Off-the-cuff Forge cultural analysis

[Clinton R. Nixon]

I didn't mean to start this, but I like it. My expanded version:

Hi, my real name really is Clinton R. Nixon. No, my parents didn't mean to. I'm originally from the middle of nowhere, Alabama, and grew up on a farm. I'm a college dropout that joined the Army to see the world. I've lived in California, Texas, Arizona, South Korea, Maryland, and now in Washington state. I liked South Korea the best.

I love to cook. I also like cleaning, which my significant other likes a lot. I'm divorced. I'm a white guy, but cling to my sliver of Native American heritage. I have two great cats, Mary Jane Watson and Buckminster Fuller. I also live with my fiancee, Jenaya, who taught me to cook.

I read a lot, especially religious satire like James Morrow, and weird fantasy (Howard, Tim Powers, Gregory Maguire, and Philip Pullman.) I'm currently reading How to Read Superhero Comics and Why by Geoff Klock, and read Children of Prometheus by Christopher Wills before that. I listen to punk rock (Face to Face, the Mekons, the Descendants) and insurgent country (The Waco Brothers, Todd Snider, Old 97's). If you realize one of the punk bands is the same band as one of the country ones, I think you rock.

I got my business license last week, and am trying to start my own web hosting company.

I love my parents, even though they once burnt all my game books. They're ok now, but we don't talk about it. I'm also thinking of moving home for the first time in 8 years - my brother (and best friend) and sister-in-law just had a baby, and all my grandparents just moved into a retirement community. (Together, strangely.) I also have a sister that we adopted when I was 12 and she was 18, and we didn't get along until this year, so I want to be close to her so we can become friends.

I have a dream of forming a cow-punk band with my brother. That's about it.

[quozl]

Hi everybody, I'm Jon.

I'm 30 years old, married for 9 years, and have a daughter who is almost 1 year & 5 months old.  I'm a follower of Jesus the Christ and believe the Bible is God's word to mankind.  (I feel this portays me more accurately to others than just saying "I'm a Christian.")  

I do computer programming for a local bank here in Vancouver, Washington.  I like hard music whether it's punk, metal, or rap (it just has to be hard).  I read some sci-fi, fantasy, western, and comedy; Douglas Adams was my favorite.  I also dig James Morrow.  I love the Star Wars trilogy and hate Episode I & II.  I thought the FOTR movie was kind of lame but am still hoping for a good Two Towers.  I have weird humor; my favorite movie is Ice Pirates.

I grew up mostly in Los Angeles and Prineville, Oregon (pop. 5000).  My parents got into that whole "rock is evil" and "D&D is evil" thing but I had already been bitten by the bug and there was no going back (plus I never could find anything evil in it).  I first played Top Secret, then AD&D, an Aliens homebrew game (about the movie), and my parents got me Dragonraid one year for Christmas.  

My first gaming con was last March in Portland, Oregon (Game Storm) and I still remember everything.  It was great fun.  I met Clinton there and joined The Forge right after.  It's good to be here!

[lumpley]

I'm David Vincent Baker.  David's never been the name I've gone by, always Vincent.  I was raised Mormon, in Utah and New York state, but I left the religion when I was 18.  I made an honest go at Neopaganism, but ended up an atheist of the worst sort.  I'm 30.  I've been married since before I was legal to drink (that's 21, in the US).  I've got 2 sons, one 6, one 2.  I'm not out to my parents or sibs.  I like really violent movies but am otherwise kind of a mild-mannered, good-natured person.  Cooking is one of my favorite things.

I, um, like the way ants taste.  They taste like shock tarts, you know, that kind of artifical sour.  The fascinating part is that they taste that way before you crunch them.  They crunch about the same as sesame seeds, which surprised me at first.  I expected them to be grittier.

-Vincent

[wyrdlyng]

Let's keep the stone rolling...

My name is Alexis Hunter, born Alexis Sardina. I am from Miami Beach, Florida and managed to make it all the way across the bridge to Miami, Florida where I currently live. I am 29 and have been married for 8 years come this Winter Solstice. I am a computer technician (aka lackey) for a large, evil electrical utility until the end of the month (my resignation notice has the 27th as my last day). Next month I start Art School to get a BFA in Computer Animation.

My interests are roleplaying (since I was 7), Anime & Manga (with a fondness for romantic comedies and giant robots), Kung Fu movies, Mobster movies, and Comic Books (since I was 4). I am also a video game fiend (all 4 major consoles and a tricked out PC). I have recently dipped my fingers into Miniature Painting and building model robot kits (working on a Deathscythe Hell Custom Gundam and 2 Pat Labors).

My parents are from Cuba but there is also some Puerto Rican, Carib Indian, Spanish and "whatever ethnicity people from the Canary Islands are" in my genetic make-up. I was born and raised a Catholic but it didn't stick and I was never Confirmed. (I was even an altar boy and sang in the choir.) The closest thing to a religion that I follow is the Tao.

I have no children and no pets. I am trying to teach myself Japanese but it's really freaking hard and I am easily distracted. I am also a big fan of all things related to Winnie the Pooh.

[Kester Pelagius]

Greetings Mike,

Ah, the tinny sound of rain rattling against the walls of this small cottage like room behind the fireplace, how like a sullen silence, the deathly quiet of a mausoleum in winter time...

Air Force? That could be seven stripes then, I think. The Army only does six (the Air Force is always trying to proove their superiority by having nice mess halls, and putting extra stripes on their uniforms).

Funny thing is, once upon a time, I probably could have told you precisely what his rank and grade was.  *shrug*

I know he was a DI for several years before I was born.

I was raised Roman Catholic, and I have a large Ozzy collection. I see no problems with that. I should come clean on the whole religion thing. I actually like the religion I was raised in (I hate the whole "recovering Catholic" thing, it was all a positive experience for me). I'm just a bit philosophical about it, and can't legitmately claim to be a practicing member. That all said, I've never been given a hard time about my gaming from anybody associated with the Church, and, in fact, I think that Catholicism is almost responsible for fantasy in some ways.

If by that you are referring to the fact Constantine pretty much re-created and constituted (the reformed institution of what would become) Christianity, or at least utilized it (great to have leverage against the Mithrais cult, which also happened to be the military power base), and then along came Theodosius who pretty much turned it (society, the religious establishment, et al) inside out and flipped the world on it's ear as he closed temples, shut down all opposing institutions, and burned all books which he thought were remotely likely to allow for any sort of alternative mode of thought all over the place so the Dark Ages could dawn...

Then I'm right with you on "the Church" being purveyors of "fantasy in some ways", more or less, to a degree, kinda of thing.

Sort of.

For instance what sort of visual did you get when I mentioned Greek Orthodox?

I envisioned the Greek Orthodox church on 92nd street. It's a Frank Lloyd Wright, and pretty sweet. My brother and I dubbed it the flying saucer when we were kids. (http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/flw/orthodox02.jpg)
Milwaukee's a pretty mixed european demographic. I also pictured spoonfuls of wine and Icons, and, yes, the Patriarch, but not you as any of these things.

Ok, now I am intrigued.

What, pray tell, sort of vision *did/do* you have?


Kind Regards,

Kester Pelagius

[wraeththu]

the short run of who/what I am -
Wade Jones
Welsh descent, US Citizen, living in Atlanta Georgia.
Buddhist
Married, no children.
College Grad
working in the IT Field

That's the stats.

-wade

[Emily Care]

I'm so happy to have more background on my fellow Forge-ites!  What a gift to be able, and willing, to share something of ourselves.  That's community.  

My extended version:

My name is Emily Care Boss. I've been known as  Emily or Em all my life and have started using my middle name more lately.  Emily's now like the second most popular name--when I go into stores I invariably hear some mother yell "Emily!" and I look around guiltily until I realize she's scolding the two year old playing on the ground, not me...  But I digress.

I live in Western MA. This summer I moved into a house being built by a good friend of mine, the sister of Meguey in my gaming group. It's been amazing to watch it develop, and to be a part of the community that helped Serena build it.  Vincent and Meguey are my long-term gaming homies and best friends, & are like family, and I feel extremely grateful to have happened upon them in my wanderings.  

My ethnicity is celtic/teutonic: Irish, English, German and Scottish. I grew up in Connecticut and have lived in New England in the states all my life.  I'm caucasian, female, 31, bi, poly, leftist/socialist and pagan.  I used to own two pet rats. I now care for two kittens, named Hugin and Munin. Among my first books read were the LOTR series at age 7.  I have too many hobbies to mention, though at present my spiritual life is taking center stage and I'm loving it.  I also study martial arts as I said in my other post (Tae Kwon Do and also Chi Gung), I silk paint and marbleize fabric--though its been many years since I've done so, I have space to set up a studio so I'll be able to do so again soon.  I study trees. I meditate. I'm an only child.  

My gaming career began with friends with whom I later lived in an urban commune (including Meguey and Vincent).  For a stretch of time, we recorded our gaming sessions on an 8 track recorder set up (with two mics) and the gm transcribed much of it.  It all seemed perfectly natural at the time. :)  I've never LARPed though I did put handcuffs on for a climactic session where my serial killer mage was on trial for killing her master. Good cathartic character that.  (I miss Caleth...)  

I was raised UCC, which is one slight shuffle to the mainstream from Unitarian Universalist, so I had an excellent, intellectually stimulating, fairly socially progressive christian upbringing, with none of it stuffed down my throat. My parents didn't baptize me as a child so I could chose for myself. I later found that my desire for spirit in my life fit better with neopagan traditions.  My parents are christian and study buddhism as well as various mystical traditions. We're all geeky non-trads.

I work in the main library at UMass, Amherst.  I'm pretty quiet and unassuming looking.  Several people have told me lately that they'd never guess what I was like from having met me, so I'm glad to be able to be seen for who I really am here as well.

Well met, everyone.

--Emily Care

[hardcoremoose]

Hey there,

I'd like to think I need no introduction, but since my posting has fallen off of late, I realize I'm being delusional.  So here's the pertinent info:

My name is Scott Knipe.  I'm 30 years old.  I'm married, and have been since last October.  I have two cats but no kids, and never intend on having any.  I have the same birthday as J.R.R. Tolkien.

I'm a fledgling game designer and film buff.  The former you could have guessed, and the latter applies most especially to horror films.  I've always been a fan of horror flicks - the sicker the better - but it's only been the last few years that my finances have caught up with my interest, allowing me to acquaint myself with certain elements of the genre that had thus far eluded me.  I'm in seventh heaven right now, finally getting to delve into the realm of European schlock beyond the basic Argento-Fulci-Bava triumvirate, and riding the wave of cool Japanese horror which has yet to crest.

It galls to me to admit that I do not have an All Region DVD player.  And I've never seen a Jean Rollin film.

God, I'm such a hopeless fanboy.

Here's an interesting tidbit.  I work for a major midwestern retailer as "undercover" store security; basically, I bust shoplifters for a living.  It's pretty exciting actually, but I'm always loath to reveal that information to new gamers.  The reason for this, as you might guess, is because I stereotype other gamers as dissidents and anti-authoritarians, and suspect that more than a few of them engage in recreational retail fraud.  Of course, this is terribly prejudicial of me, and I have a considerable amount of circumstantial evidence to point to the contrary (namely, nobody I game with displays any sort of criminal behavior), but the bias persists.  Normally I wouldn't mention this here - I simply don't want what I do for a living to interfere with my fun - but since we've been talking about social context and whatnot, I thought I'd throw it out there.

And that's about it.

Take care,
Scott

[Kester Pelagius]

Greetings hardcoremoose,

Sometimes I look up at my shelf and wonder... Why am I not playing Dungeon Keeper 2 or The Fallen instead of being online?

Then I remember the hard drive crash and think of all those levels I'd have to redo to get where I was.

It galls to me to admit that I do not have an All Region DVD player.  And I've never seen a Jean Rollin film.

Believe it or not you can sometimes find a few of them at Best Buy.

Just be aware that certain Franco titles are *very* similar to Rollins (Exorcisms comes to mind.)  Bought that one thinking it was the Rollins title, till I got it home and realized it was the Franco title which, had I given it some thought as I stood there in the aisle, like actually reading the back cover blurb, I probably could have figured out.  *laughs*

Don't much care for the splatter genre.  Nice DVD though.

So, which Rollins films were you thinking of getting?

BTW: if you haven't already, check out the web site for "Something Weird Video".  Back when VHS was reigning supreme they claimed to be the only "official" source for Rollins vids.  Should have info on there web page, if it still exists.


Kind Regards,

Kester Pelagius

[Mike Holmes]

Kester,

Um, average height, slim, long brown hair, glasses. Wearing a dark colored jacket, even while typing at the computer.

What does it matter what I envision?

Mike

[Adam]

This will be incoherent, because it's late :-)

I'm Adam Jury. Twenty-two years old, born in Southern Alberta, Canada, but moved to Guelph, Ontario, Canada just this November to take a full-time job at Guardians of Order. Yeah, it's non-indie, but it pays the bills and I get to do what I love. I've been bumming around the industry for awhile; I also maintain ShadowrunRPG.com for FanPro, and the gig that lead up to that was the twice Origins Award Nominated magazine The Shadowrun Supplemental.

I'm seeing a wonderful woman, albeit longdistance - I'll be spending three weeks with her at the end of this month and the beginning of next, and hopefully during those weeks I'll get the chance to explore some of Europe. I've lived - briefly, for two months this year - in Chicago, and I ocassionally catch myself referring to it as 'home.'

I'm a professional wrestling and hockey fan, and although I technically play guitar I don't have either of them with me now and I'm long out of practice. My hair is long and naturally brown, but I dyed it a natural red shade last year and it's still mostly that tint; except the tips, which are turqoise.

I can't look away from the TV whenever a Grand Theft Auto: Vice City commercial comes on; I want that game.

I'm an atheist and not particularly politically minded. I know it's a cop-out, but I don't have the time to pay enough attention to politics to understand them well enough. I barely graduated high school - mostly due to laziness and depression - and never attended any post secondary schooling. I want to go back, but only in an abstract sense. I've worked blue collar long enough to know that I don't want to go back, but I'm a better person for having been there.

And... I have to be at work in the morning. Back to the trenches. ;-)

[talysman]

I'm not normally a big fan of profiling, but here goes:

as you all may know already from my sig, my name is John Laviolette. I've been active on the Forge for about two months, after being lead here by some reviews on RPGNet. I came looking for design ideas and discussion, leavened with any other serious discussion that could provide inspiration.

I'm male, just turned 39, and just left a web hosting tech job with a major ISP. I've been taking time off and living off my severance pay, although that will have to change soon. (heh).

geographically, I'm a californian, although I've lived in several other states, mostly in the midwest. culturally, I'm mixed scots-irish, french, english, and cherokee, with a lot of other tiny bits. religiously, I was raised sort-of-christian in a mixed religious household; after the highschool years, I became a neo-pagan (druid) for a while, but had some issues with neo-paganism as a movement. now, I'm an independent pantheist with some mild zen/taoist influence, although if I'm in a peevish mood, I will tell people I'm a subgenius or a kibologist instead. you will notice that I don't talk to people on this forum the way I would talk to people on Usenet, though.

one of my other interests, as I've mentioned, is composing and performing experimental music under the name krisTal marimba lounge. I've performed at the Northern California Experimental Music Festival for the last three years and even got to perform on live college radio as a "promotion" for the last festival; it's all very exciting, but noise is not a commercially viable musical genre -- it's even more of a hobby field than RPGs. still, I'm successful enough to have acquired one jealous stalker. =)

another interest is video and animation. I'm mostly taping other people's noise performances and making animations for my musical compositions. I have some other ideas for how I would like to develop that talent, but it's going to take a lot more work...

other interests include pre-'80s music (for listening,) '50s sci-fi (for watching,) humor and swords-and-sorcery (for reading,) writing, and travel.

[Jake Norwood]

I'm not really sure if I want to do this or not, but what the hell; I've really enjoyed reading yours, and so I should pay for it, I guess.

My name is Jacob Peter Norwood (named after two guys in the Bible that blew it pretty badly but turned out okay anyway. I think it was appropriate), I was born in Fort Rucker, Alabama. My father is a retired Lt. Colonel in the Air Force (although I grew up with him in the army...long story). He's an Austrian Immigrant, and Norwood is his adopted name. My mom's blood is scots/irish/german. She's 6" taller then my dad, whence I get my height.

I'm Mormon, but unlike Vincent (who I respect for making his own decision) my inner-searching led me to stick to it and really become one, not just hang out with my Mormon parents. I served a 2-year mission in Poland, mostly in Warsaw. I married an Albanian, Earta, about a year and a few months after I got home. I've been married for 2 years next week. We don't have any kids yet, as we're both in school still. And probably will be for a long time. I'm a linguistics student. I teach Polish and speak, study, or have studied Polish, Russian, Welsh, French, Bib. Hebrew, Old Anglo-Saxon, Albanian, and Latin. There's more, but I always forget. My wife speaks just about as many.

I've been gaming since I was 11. My first convention was this year. It scared the hell out of me. My first RPG was a D&D LARP. I haven't LARPed since.

I live in a 91-year-old house-apartment in Provo, UT, but I was raised military, and don't consider myself as being from anywhere. Other than RPGs I practice late medieval swordsmanship (ARMA Gen. Free Scholar) and draw (about 1/3 of TROS' drawings are mine). I've recently taken up weightlifting as well, and find myself becoming my father (to the abhorrence of my mother).

I plan on escaping to Europe sooner or later, either to live in Poland or Albania, or to study at Oxford.

Probably more than you wanted to know.

Jake

[Ziriel]

It's been so fun reading everyone's bios on here.  It really fleshes some of you out for me.  How cool that we can do this without the afore mentioned paranoia.  I don't feel that I can read all of that and not contribute, so, here goes nothing...

I, Ziriel, am one of the less common, yet ever so sought after, women here on the Forge.  I am a quarter of a century old and have already begun to feel it in my knees, much to my dismay.  My blood iz mostly Dutch, German & Irish which makes me the whitest girl you ever did see.  :)

I was born in Columbus Ohio where I lived in a gigantic victorian mansion until the age of 7 when my parents had the unfortunate luck of going bankrupt.  (It's a long and sorted tale...but trust me when I say "unfortunate luck".)  We then lived in a van and travelled the country for a summer and I, being a child, loved every minute of it.  We then settled here in Colorado where my folks and I still live.  (Although not in the same town anymore to my mother's and my phone bill's ire.)  Riches, to rags, to middle class.

I went to college for English, and dropped out half way through after realizing one day: Yee gawds I hate school!  I worked at The Denver Post for two years as well, until I had a similar realization about journalism.  Now I drive cars, and make chump change, but I'm happier.  I live with a wonderful guy who I have been seeing for 7 years now, yet still hasn't married me.  (He will likely kerthwap me when he notices I posted that, as he reads the Forge as well.)  I have no children, and that makes me smile.  I have no dogs currently, and that makes me frown.

I first learned of gaming from my father when I was six.  He played D&D once a week.  I thought he actually went out and slayed dragons; I occationally worried.  Can't tell you how funny I think that iz now.  I too am writing a game.  If I ever name it I'll let you all know.  Most of my spare time/energy goes into that.  

I play the cello.  I meditate.  I have stacks of anime that my friends borrow for monthes at a time.  I love to read, especially Tom Robbins, Christopher Moore, & (I'm embarrassed to admit this) Laurell K. Hamilton.  One of my two bedrooms iz a library.  I listen to music almost constantly and have more CD's than any sane person should.  My tastes are varied in that arena but I am listening to Deep Forest at the moment.  (I find the new album odd yet interesting...)

I think that's it.  Ahh, no wait... My hair iz purple and black.  I had always wanted to try something wild and fortune gave me a chance this fall.  Ordinarily I'm just a jeans and T-shirt kind o gal but it's been quite fun watching people react to my odd hair, especially since I'm used to blending in.  "Look Mom! That girl has purple hair!" You have to love the honesty of youth.

[Fabrice G.]

Hi, nice to know all of you a bit more...

My name is Fabrice Gdak (thus the G.), i'm a french guy two weeks from my 28th birthday.

I live with my girlfriend, no kids yet.

My father is a polish catholic-raised and my mother is a polish jew (both are non-belivers). I'm an atheist, but with an (intellectual) interest in religions.

I'm still a student (think the eternal student archetype). I have a three years university degree in history (intermediate betwwen an undergraduate and a master degree), and I'm now preparing a educational engineering degree (master degree, next year).

I discovered RPG at 15, and have been playing since.

I'm too a movie buff. I like orininal and inovative (and extreme) films. I enjoy gothic horror novel and noir fiction (Caleb Carr, James Ellroy, ...).


Fabrice.