Saturday 30 September 2017

Going Sober for October!



October is for more than painting Zombies - Macmillan Cancer Support are having a campaign to raise funds by having social drinkers think about stopping drinking.  There's some good reasons for doing this.  First, it raises money for a damn cause and, secondly, because drinking alcohol is a major cause of cancers in the general population.

Now, please excuse me while I go into "Testify!" mode.

Like most people, I know too many people who have had cancer.  In my case, both my elder brother and my mother died far too young because of it.  Macmillan Cancer Support provides help and advice to those with cancer and their dear ones.  It is a charity that campaigns for better cancer care in the UK.

I have had problems with drinking.  Although these days I would classify myself as a social drinker, in the past it has caused me a great deal of trouble.  It has cost me a degree, a job and several friendships.  I have had health problems, both physical and mental, because of it, culminating in a suicide attempt that left me in a coma for two weeks.  Breaking the habit for this month will help me stop entirely.  If I can raise awareness and money along the way, that's a good thing.

I ask for your support.  If you wish to donate to Macmillan though my giving page, I would be grateful.

If drinking ins't your vice, there's also Stoptober - the NHS campaign to encourage people to stop smoking.

Paint Table Saturday: Zom 1


Nothing terribly exciting here - just a little proof of life [sic].


A handful of Warlord zombies ready to be primed.  I'll talk more about them tomorrow in what should be my first Zomtober post.

Tuesday 26 September 2017

Zomtober is Nigh!



With November almost upon us I've decided to participate in Zomtober - basically a joint effort by painting bloggers to get some Zombies or Survivors painted.  Details and a role-call can be found here.



I had thought that I'd leave the Project Z figures I picked up (way back in March) until this winter's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, but there's no harm in getting a head start on them.  For the Zomtober challenge I only need to do a minimum of one a week, which even I should manage!

And last night I found a tutorial on painting Z's...

Who knows, I might get a Halloween game in!

Monday 25 September 2017

Killer AIs, Misogynists and Old Salts


I've recently been listening to a couple of Geeklyinc podcasts.

The first is then deliciously darkly comic SAYER - as the blurb says:-
SAYER is a narrative fiction podcast set on Earth’s man-made second moon, Typhon. The eponymous SAYER is a highly advanced, self-aware AI created to help acclimate new residents to their new lives, and their new employment with Ærolith Dynamics. 
I'm enjoying it a lot - witness the fact that I zoomed through 50 episodes in a couple of days (and nights!) and have been eagerly awaiting new ones.

Second, is Cthulhu & Friends.
actual play of the Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game using a modified version of the d20 ruleset.
This I'm more ambiguous about.  I want to listen to some Call of Cthulhu play or some Mythos-inspired Pulp Fiction, but the truth is that I don't find the cast very engaging.

I've thought about it, and it comes down to the fact that They Are Dicks.  I don't mind the swearing (they make a feature of it, keeping a "fuck count" which brings a penalty.  No, what it comes down to is that (despite the GM and one of the three players being women) it's deeply misogynistic.  That might be acceptable in the role-play - set in the 1950s after all - but it's in their personal interaction.  I don't like hearing women referred to as 'bitches' and all the references to 'pussy'.

So, if anyone has any recommendations for other Pulp listening, I'd be grateful.  It doesn't have to be as pure as the driven snow, but Dicks need not apply.

Salty Types

On the dead tree front I've been buying and reading some WWI naval books lately.

It's good to reignite old interests.

It's been making me think I should make some more Old Salts posts.  Last night in reading a chapter I thought on four different occasions 'Now his story would make and interesting post".

Monday 11 September 2017

Gary Gygax, JRR Tolkien and Sid James Walk Into a Bar...



Another week, another Kickstarter...

Philip Hynes, one of the most talented sculptors in 28mm, has  launched a Kickstarter to fund the manufacture of some of his miscellaneous minis.  As the blurb says, it's an eclectic mix - figures that Phil seems to have scultpted just for the fun of it.  Despite the lack of theme (don't worry, there are more Undead Spartans promised!), they are lovely pieces and the Kickstarter is already funded.