1000 buffalo stampede

I spent the long Memorial Day weekend at the Bay Area’s KublaCon in Burlingame. KublaCon is one of the three “big” local conventions. For DundraCon over President’s Day Weekend, I usually commute to and from the conventions as needed – it’s in San Ramon, and it’s my old work commute. For KublaCon – which I don’t regularly attend – I chose to spend the full weekend, getting a room at the Hyatt Regency and making a long weekend of it.

Overall, a fun time. I co-produced my game, “Gift of Earth” with my friend Wayne – our third time running this particular event, but the first time at KublaCon. We had 9 sign-ups, and wound up with 19 players. Only one person left early, and we played through until about midnight and closed to several rounds of applause from the players. Definitely the highlight of the convention for me.

The rest of the weekend was spent having a few beers in the sports bar, looking at interesting games being played and chatting around the dealer’s room as well as catching up with some folks I only really see at conventions. The hotel was a solid “ok” – it worked on the basic accommodations just fine, and the room was comfortable. The details – such as the chargeable wi-fi and the $39 Sunday brunch – were definitely aimed at the business traveler’s expense account (I passed on both). On the other hand, the guinness was good.

I was pretty much at the hotel the whole weekend, except for a brief excursion to Burlingame center courtesy of my friend Chris B.

All of which brings me to a gray Monday… er, Tuesday, and a return to the office.

Though the sky is sunny, the day seems a darker and sadder. I just
learned that Lloyd Alexander passed away recently. Mr. Alexander’s
books, along with those of Andre Norton and J.R.R. Tolkien, are the
foundation for my life-long interest in fantasy, science-fiction, and
gaming. No doubt that they’re also part of the foundation of my
interest in writing as well.

The first book of Mr. Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain series, “The
Book of Three”, was one of the first books I owned. I acquired it
during a summer reading effort, courtesy of the BookMobile (or
similar) somewhere around 2nd or 3rd grade. I still own that book,
and made sure it successfully navigated my recent move. It came
before my reading of the Hobbit, although it was quickly followed by
it, along with searching the town library for following Alexander
books and many, many others.

I don’t have as strong a memory of the actual content of the Prydain
books after all this time. Perhaps it’s because of how long ago I
read them, or my attention being diverted to the Hobbit (or numerous
others).

I do remember that “The Book of Three” standing out so brightly when I
first found it. I remember the cover and its promise of fantasy (and
shiver of danger). If there was a gate to such faraway places, it was
the key.

It’s a bit worn from use and a bit dirty from long years, but I’ve
kept that key safe and remembered all this time. Thanks, Mr.
Alexander – thanks for your books, and for everything they unlocked.

New stories tend to be bad news – we all know that. My morning reading brought up a short piece of good news about the UCSF Children’s Hospital – namely, because the name of the therapist caught my eye.

Waaay back in school, my nickname was Izzy. A fun nickname, although one that hasn’t been used for me in, well, let’s call it 2+ decades now.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear about the good work being done by my namesake at UCSF. That Izzy is, well, a therapist of sorts for the children. She’s also a dog.

It’s a short, touching story about Izzy and the children, parents and staffers whose lives she so clearly impacts:

Izzy is like a little rock star at the Children’s Hospital. Nurses stop and pet her, kids squeal from across the room and even the sickest patients manage a smile when they see the fuzz-ball approaching.

Don’t blame me if you get all misty eyed, though. You were warned.

Prompted by a billboard on Telegraph Ave (and undoubtedly too much coffee):

Sofa and love for $499.

Well, that’s unexpected; uncommon certainly. Superficially, it sounds like a deal. Love for $499 sounds like a bargain on its own, frankly – assuming it’s the genuine article and not the tawdry, by-the-hour sort. Which, granted, can still be fun. But I’m considerably more intrigued that it might be the true love sort of love – not that the sign says that. But then again, it also doesn’t say “love seat” either, or maybe it’s supposed to be implied, that the $499 couch will bring you love. In which case, it still sounds like a bargain, although one with a time-delayed aspect. “Sofa $499 and Love Soon” might be more accurate.

But the sign over that grubby furniture story on a wan Telegraph avenue offers Sofa and Love for $499. And rather than line up of the deal, the people in their cars and cabs, trucks and bikes drive right on by.

I’ve been asked a few times exactly what I’ve been up to at Jack and Erin’s writing course (“Write Freely”).

The answer … stuff like this:

Wind, whipped and flung about over the sea, stirring up foamy chop and starshot memories. The boat cut through the waves, the same wind puffed out through the sails, driving the ship forward, a steady, arrhythmic crackling sound as the timbers creaked and the low bass rustle of the sailcloth.

Catching the wind, harnessing it in a fitful attempt to advance, advance fast, still faster than the enemy who now, having caught more favorable winds, threatens to escape. The distant horizon and they faded to a hateful profile silhouetted by the setting sun, as this crew labored on – despair, some rage, and some surrender. They will never catch them now, with darkness falling, the world’s ocean ahead, dark waters whipped and flung by the wind.

Before long, the moon would smile down along those waves, basking the salty sea in her soft, reflected gaze. The sounds remained, made eerie by the night, the crack and creak of the masts, a shivery warning. Scant light, lanterns set but few, and the crew worked by memory and some muttered prayer – a wash overboard was doom now, in the dark, the night, the wind-whipped waves.

Other than a quick run through the spell-checker, that’s as-is from the class. The prompt was to pick one of the four elements (wind, water, earth, fire) and write for 7 minutes non-stop. I often can’t stand what I write, but this one turned out pretty well.

The entire workshop’s been great, actually. I’ve gotten about half of a spiral notebook filled since starting in April … and this from someone who almost never writes without a computer.