Don from Winnipeg
]]>As for LArping, well the players are no longer just players. It really is D&D. The consequences would be real... so maybe not so much escapism though it might start that way.
Hacking the rules... would the rules hack back? What happens when GMs games unintentionally overlap with reality and other GMs games/game systems? Chaos?
]]>Maybe the Black Pool in the Manitoba Legislature really will be a Black Pool. Perhaps the sphinxes on it's roof will start issuing riddles... it is hard to say (It is fun having a Legislature building designed by a Freemason).
Don from Winnipeg (aka Maruad)
]]>The first con I attended was the Worldcon in 1983 which was eyeopening. The next was the first Keycon which was... somewhat less.
I suspect we know, only vaguely in my case these days, some of the same fen who have Twin City connections.
]]>Having said that, the previous provincial government was technically socialist even it held similar views to the Tories about the role of the oil industry in Alberta.
For me it gets complicated as I have family that live in Calgary and yes they drank the kool-aid as well. I am surprised though as they seem to all be despising Trump and the Republicans... while they still despise Trudeau and the Liberals.
]]>The best programming was the discussion with authors, musicians, artists, fans and editors that occurred during the various parties and in the con-suite (in those days it was the entire top floor of the Radisson). I made friends for life. People whom I am still in contact with over 30 years later.
]]>Some shows would tread the line before toppling over, I am looking at you Trading Spaces, but watching artificially induced train wrecks doesn't do it for me.
Do home reno shows count as reality TV (if stated earlier, I apologize now, I have a bad habit of skimming at times)?
]]>We actually were selling to the US mills at a premium because we could guarantee and deliver to contract specs. This saved the facility a lot of money (when they sourced grain from US sources the quality wasn't as consistent so they would be forced to re-calibrate their machinery for every car).
]]>I remember talking to my mom about my brother who had died when he was ten. She admitted that she thought about him every day even though over 50 years had passed. She, like myself, did not believe in an afterlife. After time you accept the loss even if you do not forget it or the person you loved.
]]>The longest single stint trip I have taken (when I was younger) was Winnipeg to Austin TX which was 26 hours but we did stop for a nap in Kansas as we had started our journey after my buddy finished work for the day (we were going to the 1985 NASFIC).
As I get older, I find I need to add rest stops along the path. We stopped in Kapuskasing on our way to Ottawa because it was just too far to do in one stint. We actually broke down and flew to Halifax when we visited the Maritimes (omg it was almost a decade ago).
Trips like these were just a fact of life though this may be changing with the younger generation. I don't have data on this but just going from what I have observed from my kids and my friends kids, the whole road trip thing doesn't happen much anymore. Many are just fine with seeing the world on the internet.
]]>Oddly enough, Dave does the best covers of Stan Rodgers songs that I have heard. If you are into filk you probably know him.
]]>I still remember how sad I was when candy bars went up to a dime. I was even sadder when comic books went up to 12 cents as I only had 30 cents a week spending money so I could only get 2 comics instead of 3.
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