Dinner at the Ram

Every year the judges from NASCRAG get together for a dinner. Asher and I arrived early with Len (the founder of NASCRAG) to learn that they had forgotten our reservation at the RAM. This means that there are about 500 people vying for about 40 tables. They acknowledged they screwed up, and ended up making room for us. And then slowly, the gang of judges seeped into the place and we all hugged and talked and shared stories.

Then we ate.

Then... we left. And now I'm back at the hotel room. We did stop by the convention center to get our bag of swag, which is the free bag they give you to badge holders every year. I'll be honest, never has the bag of swag been so little. Very small. Very paltry.

But what are you going to do? It's free!

So now it's 8:00 and we are here in the hotel with no games to play. I didn't bring any because year after year we don't end up playing any I bring. This year of course proves the exception. We could really use a game to play.

Instead, I'll work. Why not? :)

Jason

The Gamers are Coming....

So last night there were a few gamers. Just here or there. But today... they are increasing. Slowly, growing. Their numbers in little clumps, sprouting up, are increasing as we speak. It's 4:29 PM. We've been to the convention hall. We found the Privateer Press room which is filled to the brim with tables and miniatures for there wargames. And when I saw room, I say there are at least 200 tables in the room. It is HUGE. There is the requisit folk band playing by the ticket counter, and there is the huge Serra Angel statue that people are taking their pictures by. There is an audible buzz in the halls and on the street. Though I haven't seen any games actually starting yet, I'm guessing there are some impromptu ones here or there, starting in the crevices and cracks of the hotel and convention center. In my hotel, the Marriot, the entire second floor seems to be taken over by the True Dungeon crew, which is a huge maze with puzzles in it that people get to go through and try to succeed by getting to the end. It has become one of the most popular features of Gen Con in the recent years. And yes......... I've kept my camera with me so I can take pictures of all the corsetted women and flowing robes of wizards that will soon flock all around. So far I have yet to see a photo worthy person, but these types usually wait till the Con actually starts before they unleash their costumes on the world. After all why waste a great corset on a few people the day before the convention? Tonight is NASCRAG dinner at the RAM. We will keep you informed of how that goes, and write tonight. Parker flies in tonight, and I think Greg does too. So it's starting to build. It should be fun. I'll keep you informed! Jason

The Gamers are Coming...

So last night there were a few gamers. Just here or there. But today... they are increasing. Slowly, growing. Their numbers in little clumps, sprouting up, are increasing as we speak. It's 4:29 PM. We've been to the convention hall. We found the Privateer Press room which is filled to the brim with tables and miniatures for there wargames. And when I saw room, I say there are at least 200 tables in the room. It is HUGE. There is the requisit folk band playing by the ticket counter, and there is the huge Serra Angel statue that people are taking their pictures by. There is an audible buzz in the halls and on the street. Though I haven't seen any games actually starting yet, I'm guessing there are some impromptu ones here or there, starting in the crevices and cracks of the hotel and convention center. In my hotel, the Marriot, the entire second floor seems to be taken over by the True Dungeon crew, which is a huge maze with puzzles in it that people get to go through and try to succeed by getting to the end. It has become one of the most popular features of Gen Con in the recent years. And yes......... I've kept my camera with me so I can take pictures of all the corsetted women and flowing robes of wizards that will soon flock all around. So far I have yet to see a photo worthy person, but these types usually wait till the Con actually starts before they unleash their costumes on the world. After all why waste a great corset on a few people the day before the convention? Tonight is NASCRAG dinner at the RAM. We will keep you informed of how that goes, and write tonight. Parker flies in tonight, and I think Greg does too. So it's starting to build. It should be fun. I'll keep you informed! Jason

Fasionista!

So my son Asher wakes up early here in Gen Con and heads over to the mall to go School Shopping. I'm a Levis and T-shirt kind of guy. He's in that stage where he thinks weird crap looks good, so he got blue shoes, black pants, and an Iron Maiden T-Shirt. Hard to fault the Iron Maiden T-Shirt, let's be honest, but the rest of it? :) I have extended to Jennie my deepest request to please take this kid shopping and help his fashion sense!!! She even had a psychic suggest the same thing, so for Asher's fasion salvation Jennie, will you please save his Fasion Soul? Here's the picture of his ensemble. He's very pleased with it, which is good. He's having fun:

The Worst Chili Ever

Asher and I just ate at the Steak and Shake. He proclaimed their chili the worst ever. I tried a bite and it tasted right out of a can. I can almost name can it came from. Hormel, or something like that. Here is an appetizing picture!

What is this Gen Con Thing?

Gen Con stands for General Convention. As opposed to General Conference. Much different, are those two things. General Convention, heretofore shown as Gen Con, is a gaming convention. Here for four days people gather to play games. All sorts of games. Role Playing Games, like Dungeons and Dragons. Board Games like Monopoly. Miniature games like Warhammer 40,000. And video games up the whazo! There are even live action role playing games. The place gets about 40,000 - 50,000 people a year.

It's been going for like 40 years now. When I was a kid, 17, Parker and me and Barry Memmot went. We drove my Subaru out there and had a lot of fun. The next year, 18, Parker, Ben, me and Josh went. That was the year we won the D&D Open Tournament. Our lives would never be the same! Why? Because it was such a highly competative tournament that it filled our young skulls full of mush with a huge confidence! :)

We planned to go back very soon, but didn't go back for many years. Finally, we ended up going back about 10 years ago? Maybe. I would have to think hard to figure out how many years I've been coming now. Maybe 10? Asher is on his third Gen Con. So that tells you something! It used to be in Milwaukee, but now is in Indiana.

Anyway, coming here we always entered as many tournaments as we could, being highly competative people. The biggest tournament in Gen Con is the NASCRAG tournament, and while I could go on and on and on about our heroics, I'll shortly tell you we won the tournament twice, and after that were asked to become part of the NASCRAG family and judge. Meaning we are now BEHIND THE SCENES! Lots of stories to tell you about that stuff, but I would be typin till next Month telling you them all so I will just keep it very short.

So this year, I will be judging for the third year! We are also writing a series, and hope our story will get to be played by the tournament starting in 2011. Let's hope!

Anyway, that's what we are doing here. We'll be judging, and going to the dealer hall, which is the huge room filled without about 500 booths of game sellers selling every game you can imagine. Big money in games, as you can imagine. I have some friends I'll be stopping by to see along the way.

So I will keep you all up to date on goings on along the way. And by the end of this little four day jouney you will undoubtably know more than you ever wanted to know about... GEN CON! :) Good gaming! We'll talk again soon!

Jason

Indiana!

Well, the flight was smooth and quick. I watched The Matrix Reloaded along with an episode of Arrested Development. There really, and I know you are going to find this hard to believe, is very little to tell you about the flight. It was fast. Oh, and I had a can of Tomato Juice. Not sure why, but on a flight, I will drink a can of Tomato Juice. No where else. Just flying.So we landed. I texted Jennie, she's at the gym, and I texted Ben, and then called him him and we talked about Gen Con, work, women, and life. Then the Taxi came and off we went to the Marriot. Landing here, we got our room, got our internet connection, and we are now enjoying the cool air conditioning. It's 11:00 here, but there is a famouse place down the road called the Steak & Shake. Not the best food in the world, BUT... it's open 24 hours! And when I say it's not the best food in the world, I can't emphasize that enough. But when you come here, you got to eat there, and that's just the way it is.So it's off for Asher and I to the Steak and Shake! Last year he ordered a shake and took it back to the room to eat later, where he let it melt, and never ate it. I do NOT plan on letting him make that mistake again. Oh, for the second year in a row, Asher allowed bellman to help us, thus insuring that we had to pay him. I made Asher pay him this time, after teaching him not to let that happen LAST year!So it is 9:11 SLC time, but 11:11 Indiana time. I'm going to go eat at the Steak And Shake, then read THREE Nascrag Modules (which I'll explain in more detail later) and get some sleep. I will call Jennie and see how the kids are as well.Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back.Jason

Gen Con Blog

Gen Con BlogAugust 11, 2009, Tuesday, 3:50 PMSo begins Gen Con 2009! And you all get to hear about it and how it goes straight from me, Jason, your faithful Dogstargames servant! Right now, at this very moment, as I type this, we are at the airport, waiting for our Delta fight to go through.Back at the store, things are in the capable hands of my son Riley. He will be sitting their doing orders and answering questions. If you need anything, contact him! Of course… I’ll be sure to pay attention to emails once I get there and I’ll be available.Of course the big topic is Wizards of the Coast and what they are doing with Magic the Gathering and Dogstar Games. I have yet to tell you about that, but I will on this trip. So look ahead a few posts and we will describe what this wonderful company is doing to your humble game store. It’s a crime, that’s all I can tell you right now.So this year it will be me and Asher going to Gen Con, along with Parker. The rest of gang couldn’t make it. Too much recession going on, too much budgeting to allow for it. So we will certainly miss Ben, Sheridan, Kelly, and Erin. It would be nice if we could all come. But maybe next year.So… sitting in my backpack are the three NASCRAG modules that I will be DMing while attending the Con for the NASCRAG tournament. Have I read them? You even have to ask? Good question. No I haven’t. Except for the first one, I am woefully ignorant of the modules. I’ve heard they are excellent, but I have no idea what is going on. Why? Well I didn’t get a chance to playtest them like normal, and I’ve been so busy I simply can’t see straight. Plus with this WOC problem hanging over us all like a hammer, there has not been much I can do.BTW, a great shout out to Jennie for watching Ame and Riley while me and Asher go on our yearly business trip. I hope to convince her to come next time along with Ame, and maybe even Riley, though who would run the shop if he came? We usually plan on playing some Magic the Gathering drafts while we are there, but I think I will avoid those due to Wizards of the Coast. We don’t want to help them at this point in time when they threaten to shut our entire business down for no good reason. ( I know, you are wondering what those reasons are, but you will have to be patient.)So I think we will do some Warhammer, checking out the tables and seeing what we can see. We also have a couple movies to watch on the plane. We brought the Matrix Trilogy, because it seemed like a good idea after Brandon and Jeanine on So you Think You Can Dance did a dance in the finale to one of the Matrix songs. JOkay, that’s enough for an initial post. We are here in Salt Lake City. Bye!-Jason

Been A While

So it's been a while but I am ready to give you at least a short recap of recent events. A few weeks ago Jennie and I went to her parents Cabin in Idaho, with her brother's Paul and Josh, and her father John (Dr. Stanchfield) and mother Peggy, and Paul's wife Jen. They fished, I called my old friend Clay Ryan Hunter and talked to him. Let's see, we went to Jackson. That's the short version. Next weekend we took the kids to Classic Skating, and saw FOUR movies! Harry Potter, The Proposal (funny movie), Coraline (great movie) and Knowing.

This weekend we saw Julie & Julia, which was just great. We also went to Cirque De Solei with Peggy and Ame. The boys and Ame earlier saw GI Joe.

It got unseasonably COLD. SON OF A GUN! Dang it was cold. We had a great breakfast with Peggy at Market Street though the service sucked, the food was fantastic.

Friday night we went to Tom Mecham's house for hamburgers and a bonfire in the back yard. That was a lot of fun.

So... I know, these catch up blogs are lame. In the movie Julie & Julia the character blogs and it made me realize I need to blog more. And be funny doing it. Not lame like these. Well, I should keep writing since Jennie is over on the other side of the bed doing her facebook thing. When she starts doing that she just tunes out. She's met a lot of old friends there. All the old friends I meet mostly live out of the area so I don't get to see them.

I bought Julia Child's famouse book yesterday, and I'm starting to read it. She has some great things to say about food. The woman loves food. It's impressive. I love food too. I need to lose weight, but that doesn't stop me from loving food.

I need a project. Only I don't have time for a project. Something neat. Something of an adventure. Work is so busy and life so unsure, I just think I need to DO something. Hm... I'll let you all know how it works out. Right now I'm not sure what. But I can say I want to move forward. Which is a hell of a lot better than saying I want to move backwards. Living in the past or the future is probably a bad idea. Try to live in the now. Jesus! Yes. In the NOW!

I'm sitting on the bed with three dogs. Bo and Figgy, and Cinder. Figgy is ripping some terribly bad smelling farts.

Oh, Ame's competative Soccer team played in it's first tournament. The girls will get better. Jennie and I coached them one evening, but only as fill ins. They girls played three games, and lost 10-0, 10-0, and 4-1. It was fun, and Ame had a good attitude about it despite the losses. For that I was proud of her.

I am reading a book that Jennie recommended entitled: Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. It makes me realize how much Ame looks up to me and needs a strong father in her life. She's a good girl, so it's easy, but I need to do the right thing by her as well.

Oppps... Jennie is looking at me. She's done facebooking, so that means I have to go. BYE !

GRIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (That's for you Jennie!)