I do so love to game. My first electronic ‘gaming’ is probably familiar to most people; consoles. Nintendo was my preference, which blended into a game boy era, then computer games. Technically computers came first, but I was using them to program on before I got distracted by using them for games. Frankly, consoles back in the day were MUCH better at gaming than computers were. Alongside that I’ve been an avid board game player since I could pick up die. It all started with Monopoly, then Life, then Risk, a well trod path of each game leading to something more complex and challenging. In my teens it was Axis and Allies, the only game I still revisit from that era on a semi-regular basis. Then there came Dungeons and Dragons and my life was forever altered. I don’t have to be the nerdy kid; I can be a cleric wielding the power of Gods! Yeah, still a nerd. Oh, but no, not just that! I can be the creator of worlds! The Dungeon Master! LOL, yeah, I still play to this very day. Computer games have gone more by the wayside, I tend to pick up computer games if they are remakes of board games I like, but don’t feel like taking the time to set up. Seriously have you played Eldritch Horror? That game needs a computer version to save me the hour long set up time.
I’ve been thinking a lot about fear the last few years. I see it in the news, in relationships with people; it’s prevalent on a daily if not hourly basis. When I was growing up I was raised on it. Don’t be out after dark or someone will abduct you. Don’t go into that part of town, it’s dangerous and you’ll be mugged. Don’t travel to foreign countries, the people there are savages! That religion is full of suicidal fanatics. That vehicle is dangerous. A whole life built around not doing things due to the potential consequences. Of course, it only takes one bad thing to hit the media and everyone is talking about it. The victim? Oh, they should have known better than to ‘go there’ or ‘do that’. Never mind that a million people went there and did that without incident. Statistically we are in the safest time to be alive than every before. Not everywhere; war still scars our planet as those who have, think they need to have more. Religion still poisons the minds of people who seem to forget the very purpose of religion is peace and caring for your fellow man. Unless you’re Conan and worship Crom.
I’ve reset the website from the ground up, had the server guys wipe my domain of EVERYTHING and I’m working on a clean install of Wordpress using an Author theme and plugins. Wordpress is new to me and getting it all set up is going to take some time. I still have some placeholders in various locations and will get them down as soon as I can. Yeah, yeah, I should do this all locally and then move the completed site up, however I’ve noticed that I work more on ctales if I do it ‘live’. This isn’t a major production, it’s a personal, low-key book/blog website.