Ramblings on a Christmas Morning

    I'm pretty much finished with everything to do with Christmas already, so I don't have much of anything to talk about today.  No one is probably going to read this today anyway.  Well, maybe, so why be topical? I mean, no one offered suggestions for my next serial posts as of last week.  No one found the term "takeaway" instead of "take-out" in last week's post, or commented on the strikethrough 'victim' as part of a pun to the title either.  Anyhow.  Today is just another boring day, albeit a little behind schedule.  I don't get gifts any more, as it is only my mother, and she is not the best at getting me gifts.  She has been known to mess gifts up even after I tell her the exact things to get.  I've already finished going over hundreds of books coming out in February, a task I started yesterday but had to stop when my computer's battery started to run down and it was too close to closing time to start recharging it. (I found nine more books that I might get for the store, or myself.) There were only three customers at my store yesterday:  a woman who came in to pay for some chocolate-covered cherries she got but had problems getting her credit card transaction to work, a man who got a gift certificate for a neighbor, and a man who picked up almost $400 in cherries he ordered over a week previously.  We had to stay open a little later than planned for the that one.  The rest of my day will just be my usual random internet searching, a few games, a weightlifting session this afternoon, and maybe a nap.  I have to be ready tomorrow when I have to start the year-end inventory, as well as the trying to figure out the best order to take down the Christmas decorations so I can take home the more delicate things on days without a forecast for rain.  Some things won't matter if they get slightly wet, so I'll probably take them back first. My special technique for counting inventory is sort of tricky, but I realize I can't explain it in an easy fashion. It allows me to not just tabulate what the stock currently is, but also double-check on what had been sold over the past year.  (I do weekly checks on those books, but I have been known to haphazardly miss one or two.) Quite frankly, I am starting to get bored writing this morning.  I always planned on having a brief post today that kind of just plods along, so I feel I have achieved that goal. See you next week.  Year.  Whatever.  Merry Christmas!

Serial Filler

    Earlier this year, I wrote a series of posts about every single place where I bought/could have bought comic books.  I followed that up with a much shorter series about every single place where I bought my World of Darkness RPGs, as well as places where I almost/could've bought them.  I also had a few posts listing some of my favorite things.  Well, I've been thinking about doing another such series.  On one hand, it gives me content that can last for weeks, if not months.  This makes it very easy to plan my blogcast.  On the other hand, I sometimes forget some of the details after planning so far in advance.  I also have to delay some more topical posts rather than interrupting an ongoing series. My recent RPG series delayed the past six weeks of posts, making some of them slightly later than they should have been. Still, the ease of creating such series makes them very desirable.  So, what should I write about next? Books would have been a great choice, but I pretty much already mentioned practically all of them in my comic book series. [I have visited one new book store, the Barnes and Noble at the Fayette Mall in Lexington, since that series.  I didn't buy anything.  No magazines, but some graphic novels and manga. It really had a great atmosphere.] I don't really want to rehash mostly the same material so soon.  Magazines might be a little better, as a few places that I hadn't mentioned in my comic book series would be included, but maybe not enough to warrant going over them again.  Toys were a possible choice, but many of the same places would be brought up again.  Furthermore, I really haven't bought any toys since the early 90s. (Yes, that would place me in my early 20s. Don't judge.) I also have no idea where some of the toys I got as gifts came from.  Now, music might be a good bet.  I used to buy all sort of singles and albums back in the day.  I still buy CDs.  I bought three in the past two years.  Unfortunately, most of these places have gone out of business. I've even forgotten many of their names. The few places that remain have seriously cut back on product, mainly relying on vinyl, a format I can no longer play. I also don't have any digital recordings.  I'm just not into that format yet.  Video games were another possibility. The only problem is that I haven't bought a new console game in twenty years.  Haven't even played one in almost that long too. Mostly, it is just mobile apps on my MacBook and iPhone. Clothing was a strong choice, one that I've mentioned a few times.  Remembering which places I actually bought stuff from, as opposed to just browsing, might get difficult.  Also, I've pretty much just bought clothes from just three stores over the last decade or so.  Maybe four or five if I add shoes and mail-order. I thought about doing supermarkets/grocery stores as a unique take.  Sure, I've already covered many of them, but there might just be enough that haven't made the list yet to warrant doing a series on them.  It just feels a tad boring and dull. [As an aside, in planning for a possible series, I thought that most stores had a counterclockwise flow from entrance to check-out.  Turns out, while the majority do, many stores have a clockwise flow.  Many more than I originally thought.] The leading contender for my next series, though, will be restaurants and other food service places.  Dine in, takeaway, and even some delivery.  Just going over the Pikeville/Coal Run area will take three weeks.  Probably more.  There would be many repeats, with up to eight or nine locations of certain ones.  Sometimes with two for the same locale.  Still, this is the one I'm leaning towards.  Of course, I could take this into a different direction entirely.  I could go with car dealerships or libraries (three to at least eight, with maybe two or three more to the former if I include those my mom dragged me to).  I could go with favorite magazine runs and subscriptions. Toy lines. Television viewing habits.  Meal plans.  Exercises and routines. (I'm currently up to 115 abdominal crunches in a row.) The list literally goes on and on. So, what will be my next victim, topic?

What's Poppin' in the New Year

    This past summer, I clicked on a suggestion from a comic book news site on Facebook about a certain Olympic athlete's fail (i.e. "The Bulge").  For the next few weeks, I was getting the worst suggestions.  It took a while to clear out, but I am now getting a fairly steady supply of comedy, astrology, and weightlifting tips in Reels. (Although one recent 'tip' had a guy performing a bench press only to look up his spotter's gym shorts.  Cut to a kitten bapping a Christmas ornament. NO.) Another thing that has shown up is information about new food products getting ready to appear at supermarkets and restaurants. Way back in late September/early October, I got news about a number of new sodas coming out next year.  I finally have the time in my blogcast to cover the ones I am most interested in.  Note that I am only covering what I have seen and double-checked, so things might not be as exact as I am mentioning here.  First off is A&W Ice Cream Float.  This is the first special flavor I can remember coming from A&W so this could be a big thing.  On the other hand, this one isn't due out until late next year, and the little bit of information about it is kind of sketchy.  Supposedly, it will taste like an ice cream float with a cherry on top.  I guess I'm in for this.  For those who can't wait, you could probably mix A&W Root Bear with Cream Soda and add a splash of Cherry 7-Up (a related brand) to duplicate what the taste could be.  The rest of these flavors are pretty much confirmed and are due in the first quarter of 2025.  Next is Orange Cream Coke.  Coke used to have an orange vanilla flavor that was recently discontinues, so I'm not sure how this flavor will be different. Coke has stopped production of a number of flavors recently, so bringing back an older one with a slight difference is unusual.  I will say that the original orange vanilla flavor was one of the few Coke varieties I could stand, so I might be willing to try this one as well.  Maybe.  The next flavor is Wild Cherry Vanilla Pepsi.  Again, this would be an update of a discontinued flavor. I personally like this flavor combination, although I found the original version a little too sweet. [Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper is still one of my top two flavors of all time, with Crystal Pepsi being the other.  Supposedly, Dr Pepper still makes it, but I haven't seen any around in years, and I don't order food online.  However, if anyone does find it in the 'wild,' it would make a good Christmas/birthday present.  Just saying.] I will definitely be trying this one.  Probably multiple times.  I just hope it isn't too sweet this time around.  Finally, Dr Pepper is coming out with Blackberry.  They have had a limited-edition flavor called 'Dark Berry' many times over the years.  Its flavor profile was supposedly blackberry, black cherry, and black currant. The first time I tried it, I didn't really care for it.  However, I enjoyed it more in later tastings.  I'm not sure if I would like blackberry on its own though.  Yes, I do eat blackberries on their own.  They are not my most favorite berry, but they are way about raspberry and would make a better pop than blueberry, although I would probably like that one.  Earlier this month, Dr Pepper was giving away free samples of a mystery flavor, probably this one.  Unfortunately, they were all gone by the time I found out about them.  I didn't have enough points to redeem to purchase one anyway, but still. Of all of these new flavors, this is the only one I know I will be trying multiple times. I will say that the purple cans look neat as well, better than the red, white, and blue of the Wild Cherry Vanilla Pepsi at least.

A Balm for My Irritated Soul/Skin

    As a consequence of my annual late-fall shopping trip, I found out that my favorite after shave balm (not lotion, more on that later) had been discontinued.  I go on about four of these shopping trips per year as a day off from work and to check on products not really found locally. My last trip didn't turn out too well, so I had hoped this one would be better.  I had to delay it by a week, as the weather was too rainy for the original date, but it allowed me to research and plan things out better.  I was running a few minutes late that morning, but I was ready to go within the scheduled time frame.  However, the person accompanying me needed over twenty minutes more to get ready.  This made us late, only to be compounded by having to drop off some chocolate-covered cherries to a customer and an unscheduled rest stop.  Not to mention a regular scheduled rest stop later on. Ultimately, we were over thirty minutes behind schedule, so a few destinations had to be cut out, as well as a few things I was looking for.  Fortunately, I had looked online for a few things, so I knew what to look for.  I already knew that there weren't going to be any shirts in the brands I follow in the color palette I needed, but I took a quick glance anyway just to make sure.  Pants and jeans were almost better, but still nothing in the style, color, and size (W34 L29/30 is a tricky combination sometimes). I wound up not trying a single thing on that day, even with all of the great sales going on.  Finally,  I went after my Bleu de Chanel eau de perfum and after shave balm.  While I found the former, no one had the latter.  The clerks even mentioned they weren't getting their orders in. I wound up just getting a small bottle of Bleu (stupid inflation).  So, while I spent more this shopping trip than my previous one, I actually got fewer things. I got back home only a little later in the day than I would for a normal Tuesday, made a little later because I forgot to bring the windshield frost cover that morning. (Turns out, while it did frost that night, it melted before I left for work the next morning.) I somehow I managed to cram a day's worth of streaming videos, social networking, and playing games into a few hours that night.  Along the way, I managed to get an ad for Bleu.  So, I naturally clicked it to check out what was going on.  Turns out that Chanel had discontinued its entire after shave balm line for all of its men's fragrances.  Instead, there was a 'watery' after shave lotion for better coverage, as well as moisturizer for skin care.  I have always preferred balm as it provided a better soothing sensation for my sensitive skin, and not just the irritation I get because I never really learned how to shave via a cartridge or electric razor. Now, I don't know what to do.  I don't want to order a different product online, unless I tried it out for myself in the store first.  Not just because of the scent, but the coverage as well.  I'm not due for another shopping trip until February, and I might not be going to a store with a great selection of men's fragrances.  There really isn't a great selection locally, at least for the higher end products.  Even then, I wouldn't want to get another fragrance that might clash with my regular Bleu.  I don't like many scents, so I tend to stick with one for a long time.  (I usually only shave every other day, but I only use after shave on the days I actually go out, so about twelve to fourteen times a month.)  I will probably be forced to buy a bottle of cheap stuff from the super-center like I did during the lockdown. In fact, my current bottle might be the one I got when I could go on shopping trips again. Yes, it can take me that long to go through them. That's why I am taking my time in determining what to do.

Obstacles while Traveling the Radio Dial

    Yep, it's another one of those posts again.  I wish I didn't have so many problems with listening to the radio, but I do.  There are four local FM stations that I listen to frequently, all of them Top 40.  The one I listen to the most is WQHY 95.5.  It was once the largest radio station in the region, but I'm not sure about that any more.  As I have mentioned many times before, I have a hard time listening to it at my store with my boombox radio. (I should get a newer model with precise digital tuning, but then such models don't have a tape deck or CD player.)  For some reason, I keep getting intense static, but only for that one station. I've had many, many theories as to why this happens (e.g. boosted signals from nearer stations, interference from a moved light fixture in the parking lot, improved ceiling ballasts light fixtures, random vehicles parked outside, the new VOID phone service), but the problem just seems to be getting worse lately.  If the antenna isn't set at the exact right position, I get barely any signal, unless I am holding it.  Just a background static that I can almost can hear something.  When I don't get it just right, I get the public radio station before Q95 or the contemporary Christian station just after.  I can't get either one that good on my car radio, even when parked as close as possible to my store radio.  What is worse is that I sometimes get a country station or a classic pop (not rock, pop) station instead, and neither one is that close to Q95 on the dial.  It doesn't help that they may have changed music services again recently.  While the local DJs sound the same, the ones from the service have changed, and I am not sure why.  Some of the features have also been changed, leading me to think that they are using an entirely different service, but I can't be positive. My next favorite station has probably been WIFX 94.3.  I first heard it at a clothing store somewhere between Dorton and Jenkins in the mid-80s.  I liked the dance music show being played and got my mom to tune to it in the car.  It has been a preset ever since.  In the past few years, The FOX began to concentrate on more recent music, instead of a wider selection of years and with a fair selection of hip-hop/rap songs, especially compared to Q95.  I mean, the Q almost never has rap, even on the songs whose most common version has a rap segment, and it is fairly common to hear a song from twenty years ago, if not thirty.  Over the last few months, the FOX had a little more contemporary crossover country songs, but since I liked a few of them, I didn't mind it that much.  Last Monday, the FOX started playing all country. Technically, they are airing the Highway 23 country music programming from a different station owned by the same company, but it is still all country.  And while they play some recent hits, enough to get my hopes up that they have returned to their regular line-up, the station's primary focus is regional artists, many not yet widely known. The FOX still has their Fox News update, although they are frequently up to a day behind, and UK. sports, I mostly listed to them for the music. I am hoping that by Christmas or soon after that they return to their previous format. I guess WHLW 94.7 would be the next oldest station I regularly listen to.  It is mostly a preset due to its weather coverage; it is the station to get alerts first, usually.  KLITE has a fairly good selection of current music, slightly more hip-hop to country ratios, although Thursday afternoons are throwback selections.  However, ever since I got my new car in 2019, I have had interference issues.  In many places during my commute, I can barely get a signal, only for my return trip to have a slightly better chance at hearing it.  I believe both elevation and foliage have an effect, beyond just simple proximity.  It is a weaker signal and somewhat far away.  The most recent of my current stations for every day listening is WZLK 107.5.  I have only been listening to this station since I opened my store.  ZRock leans more towards hip-hop/rap Top 40 more than country Top 40.  If I wanted to, I could easily get the station on my store radio, but I don't like its mix of songs enough to listen to it all day, especially since it doesn't offer things like news or weather alerts.  Still, I listen to The Kidd Kraddick Show most weekday mornings, so I have to problems with the station overall.  However, I get the same interference problems in the morning as I do with KLITE.  Worse, the problems persist longer and continue for the same section of the evening commute. Considering that I am closer to its radio tower during those stretches, I can only guess that my car's panel antenna construction might be the cause, but I can't be quite sure.  I only started noticing this with my new car, so I could be right, although I never could get that signal from as far away as I could with the previous three. At least I have a temporary reprieve due to a Sirius XM free trial for the next few days.  Sure, it is limited to the "clean language" music channels and a few others, but at least I can get a clear signal most of the time, and I know where most of the few "dead-air" spots are. Then, a week or so from now, is is back got the static.

Turkey Season. Deer Season. Turkey Season! Deer Season! Penguin Season?!

    This time of year, there are plenty of things to watch out for on the roads.  Some rather close, others not so much. Starting back in late September/early October, I began to notice bunches of turkeys along my regular route to and from work. Mostly, they were groups of two to four, occasionally more, in yards and fields along Indian Creek in the mornings.  In the evening, I would see a few along a certain stretch of US 23 at the top of a hill.  None of the sightings were near the road, but I had to be sure none of them would try to fly across the road.  I almost hit a turkey that way on the Mountain Parkway once, but usually they fly way overhead. (I have also had heron fly alongside my car a few times, but they are not part of this post.)  By mid-October, the sightings started to wane, although I still catch a few now and then.  Just last week I saw a flock of at least twenty all along a hillside on US 23.  Fortunately, they were well away from the highway.  After the turkeys started to disappear, deer started to show up.  One ran down the road ahead of my car on Robinson Creek, but the main sightings were in an abandoned yard at the start of the Floyd side of Abner.  It wasn't that late, but the cloud cover made it a little darker than usual that evening.  That is when I saw the deer on the side of the road, only for then to run off into the weeds along the hillside. They would show up for the next few evenings, but I haven't seen them since.  There have been other deer sightings, including a possible pair that just had leapt over a guard rail a second before I got there.  I just could glimpse a white tail behind the rail before they ran down the hill on the other side.  However, the things I have most seen from the road are decorations, which provide an entirely different level of distraction.  Normally, I would have to wait until early October, maybe late November before the decorations would start to go up.  I saw my first Halloween decorations before Labor Day.  That's right, August. I had never seen anyone put their decorations that early before Halloween.  This is also a reason why I didn't post anything about them before now. Why reward someone for doing something so out-of-season? (Also, I was in the middle of a series, so I didn't want to interrupt it.)  This year, the 'crawling ghost' was ubiquitous, with the eight-legged beast being a little less so. (I say they were spiders.  My mom said they were octopuses. [Octopi is the non-standard plural. {Based on the language history, the proper term might be 'octopedes,' but since I first heard that term on a cartoon, I might be wrong.} Many people think it is an acceptable alternative.] However, how can an octopus be scary enough for Halloween?)  Some people had those giant skeletons.  A few had more than one.  One house also had an entire table of skeletons around a picnic table as if having a party, or playing cards, to go with their two giants, as well as inflatables and a few other smaller skeletons.  Inflatables were all over the place, with The Nightmare before Christmas being the most common. The one house of Indian Creek that goes all out for Halloween didn't disappoint either, with multiple tableaus featuring pop culture characters such as Beetlejuice and Jigsaw.  They also had a trio of skeletons on a fishing boat. One last house didn't put out their inflatable haunted tree until the week before Halloween.  They also had a pair of silver-and-blue penguins.  Apparently, they put out some of their Christmas decor early so they wouldn't have to go back more than once.  Now, while my concerns about using penguins as Christmas decorations in the Northern Hemisphere is well-known, and many don't agree with them, I think we all can agree that penguins are not appropriate for Halloween.  They had put out some Christmas decorations before Halloween.  Now, some might say that isn't too early, I think most will agree that one should at least take down their Halloween decorations before putting up anything for Christmas.  In fact, the Christmas decorations started going up within a week of Halloween.  The biggest ones are giant inflatables, some well over ten feet tall.  Some people still have their giant skeletons up, possibly to put Santa costumes on them to get more use out of them.  One house has a Christmas tree up in every window.  However, a few houses actually have Thanksgiving decorations up.  Mostly, they use inflatable turkeys.  That house of Indian Creek actually repurposed two of their mannequins by dressing them up as pilgrims.  One male and one female, although both mannequins might be women.  Seeing so many different holidays competing with one another is almost enough to drive me to distraction. Not quite literally, but close. At least the animals don't seem to be interfering with the decorations, yet.

And the Number One Song of 2024 Is

    I have no idea.  Really.  Last week's election was easier to figure out than this. [By the way, I have purposely tried not to find out if this number one song has been announced yet.  You may have heard about it by now, but I haven't.  So, I could be right or very wrong in my prediction.] This is coming from someone who has monitored the charts since grade school. Traditionally, Billboard has been determining the year-end charts based on a year from late November/early December.  Last year, the chart-year ended in late October/early November.  I don't know if that is happening this year or not, so I have to hedge my guesses appropriately.  The year-end charts are compiled from the weekly charts.  Each week, a song is ranked according to a combination of airplay and sales, across a number of sources.  Songs are then awarded an inverse number of points, with the number one song getting the most points and the bottom song, in this case #100, gets the least points.  For the year-end charts, these weekly charts are combined, sometimes with other predetermined metrics for bonuses.  When I first started watching the charts, songs that were still going up at the end of the year were bumped over to the next year's year-end chart, while songs going down were included in the current year's chart, with its final weeks estimated.  Later, a song's history could be spread over multiple years, if it bridged the time between them, but only for its original run.  Now, a song can be on multiple year-end charts if it keeps coming back, such as a holiday song around Christmas.  Typically, the number one song of the year is based either on quality or quantity.  A song that spends multiple weeks at number one gets the most possible points per week. This year, that song is "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozie. It has spent over three months at number one this year, possibly over four months based on how the chart-year is determined. The song has just returned to number one, and it could stay there until the holiday songs start to be played non-stop. On the other hand, a song that stays a very long time on the charts can also end up being the top song of the year, regardless of whether it ever made it to number one, just by accumulating so many points per week.  This year, that song is "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims.  It entered the charts last August, [The reason why the song is not eligible for any Grammys this year.  It was released before the eligibility period.] and is still on the charts this week.  The song entered the top ten in January, spent a week at number one in March, and has been in the top ten ever since, save for one week in May when the latest Taylor Swift album came out and took over the entire top ten.  That is an entire year on the chart, most of it in the top ten.  "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" didn't even hit the top ten until the week after Swift's debut, and it didn't get to number one until July, where it has been all but two week's ever since.  In case of close ties, the song with the longer chart run usually wins out over the song with the most weeks at the top, but it could go either way.  I probably won't have time to tabulate my own guess for another week or two, or longer, before I can confirm this either way.  Personally, I'm going for Swims as the number one for the year, but I'll admit that I could be wrong.  Also, "Lose Control" has been on the chart for so long, that it is preventing the follow-up, "The Door," from getting the attention that it deserves.  What can I say? I just prefer the more up-tempo song.

A Chip off the Ole Tooth

    On October 24, I chipped the top back third of my lower front left incisor. I was eating dinner, nothing too hard or crunchy, when I was feeling around and noticed that part of that tooth was missing. I must have swallowed it, because I don't remember chomping down on anything hard.  Naturally, I was worried.  I had a smaller part of that tooth break off the top earlier this year, but this was much larger.  Fortunately, it wasn't deep enough to hit blood or anything.  I wasn't sure what to do, until I remembered that my dentist had texted me a while back to confirm my next regular appointment for cleaning. I texted back, thinking I would get a fairly quick response.  The following morning I remembered that I live in a dead zone without good cellular coverage and the message wasn't send. (I generally don't use my phone to call/text at home, and wifi is more than good enough for gaming.  Yet, my text didn't go through wifi either. Eh.) I tried looking for signal all around my home that morning, but it was a no go.  Worse, when I called using the landline, I found out that my dentist isn't in on Fridays.  Yeah.  When I got into work, I was finally able to send my text.  No response all day, even after I tried very hard making sure that I felt it was an emergency. I guess when they take off for the weekend, they really make sure to leave work behind.  I spent the weekend making sure I ate very carefully and talked as little as I could.  I got help off of social media, but the advice wasn't tenable.  Sure, I could have used dental wax to fill in the gap, but taking it out and putting it back in eight or more times a day wasn't feasible. Just too much trouble.  Anyway, I had to leave for work before I could call the office again.  When I got to my store, I had found that the dentist office had called there soon after I left home. (I found out that evening that they had called home too.  Called ID is good for something after all.) I was able to schedule an appointment for that Thursday morning, Halloween.  They didn't offer any advice though to help with the gap.  I was glad I had an appointment, but I was worried about a shipment due in supposedly any day.  It was supposed to have been delivered the previous week, but got delayed for technical reasons, and it was supposed to be there by Halloween, possibly while I was at the dentist's. I called back Wednesday morning with my doubts, and the office allowed me to change my appointment to an hour earlier, which actually would cause me more problems than just asking for a different day or for expedited service. (Turns out, the delivery would feature a second delay for 'reasons' and should be here on the day I'm writing and posting this. Eh, again.) I just managed to leave in time, but I got behind a slow truck.  I thought I would pick up speed after it pulled off, but I would've gotten behind a coal truck if I hadn't taken an alternate route, one slightly longer. At least I got to hear one Halloween-themed song along the way that I wouldn't have if I hadn't left early. ("Dead Man's Party" by Oingo-Boingo.) I got to the dentist a little late, but not bad.  Soon after I got there, I had to pay a fee for either the visitation or the lateness, don't know for sure. I wasn't there for long before I got called back, where an assistant checked my records while another one came in later to take some x-rays.  I waited a few more minutes before a dentist came in.  Not my regular one, who only does exams in the mornings and not procedures, but a partner. He saw me and determined the best way to fix my tooth, before checking in on the other patients.  After a few more minutes of waiting, an office manager (hard to tell as much of the staff were in costume) came in with a form indicating the procedure and cost, as well as another form in case I needed to be put under. (It wasn't needed.) I waited again, until just after my original appointment time at ten, after an hour in total, before the dentist came in to fill my tooth.  Because of the location of the filling, I had to be placed at a very steep angle.  All the water pooled at the back of my mouth in the sensation of drowning. (Yes, the term 'waterboarding' came to find.)  This happened multiple times, but I made it through without notifying the dentist.  There were some problems with getting the angle right and in separating the filling from the tooth on its left, but everything worked out.  I paid my fee and was able to eat immediately afterwards.  I opened about an hour late or so.  The filling is still a little tight against my other tooth on the left, the angle is a bit off with the tooth on the right, and my tongue still wants to feel around the slight ridge on the bottom where the filling meets the tooth, but it is slowly getting better.  My mother is concerned about the visitation fee, even if it may have been warranted, but I can't get another new dentist this year.  I had to switch after my mother got into a disagreement with my old dentist about wrongful charges on her procedures.  If not for that, I may had been able to get a quicker appointment with him, or at least some advice.  Possibly even reduced prices, but that can't be taken for granted.  At least I could have opened my store up sooner. Let's just hope I don't experience another tooth-shearing emergency any time soon.

Welcome to My Game World, Part Five

    Last week, I detailed the remaining places where I had bought TTRPGs.  However, in my quest to get other products, I looked at many other places.  While I found stuff there, I didn't buy anything, for various reasons.  Here are those last few places, listed in approximate chronological order.

• Readmore book store, Prestonsburg:  I think I remember seeing V:tM here with its iconic cover (green marble, artificial rose, ankh necklace) well before I got interested in the WoD. However, I do know I saw some of the novels there.  I even looked through one M:tAs book.  I really wasn't interested in the fiction, although I would later pick up a few novels, but this one gave hints about the game world that I hadn't explored before.  Unfortunately, it was the last book in a trilogy, so that made me wary of buying it.  By the time I thought I would get it, the book was no longer there.  I think it is still available as a PDF, along with the rest of the trilogy, but I am not really that interested in getting it anymore.  Readmore closed early this year. [I don't remember seeing any WoD material at the Pikeville/Coal Run location.]
• Waldenbooks, Huntington Mall:  Considering how fortunate I would be at the Lexington location, I was surprised how little the selection was here.  I mostly saw books I already had or weren't too interested in.  When the store went out of business, in 98 or 99, I almost got a W:tO book that I finally decided to pick up.  They had had it for a while, but I had wanted to wait until I got other books in the line first.  My mom convinced me that wait would be too long and that I should just check out Borders instead.  I believe that I may have picked up a supplement that day, but I still regret not picking up a major supplement that I had the opportunity to pick up.  Sure, I would have lost it in the 2003 flood, but I still would have had it.
• Hobbytown USA, Regency Center, Lexington:  When I was looking for books, I did internet searches at the library.  There were about four collectables/hobby stores in Lexington that were listed.  This one was the easiest one to get to, as it was along the normal road we still take for most shopping trips. (There is still a Micheal's and Krogers there.) The internet search was correct; they did have many books.  Most of them were for W:tO and C:tD though, and not really anything that I wanted. Older stuff. I mean, some of the C:tD stuff wasn't even being used any more for second edition playing.  There was this one W:tO book that I couldn't gotten, but I had seen some bad reviews for it, so I passed.  The strange thing is the C:tD books would be very valuable now, and they would have been safe from the flood with the part of my collection that was just out of the water. The location would close soon after and merge with the city's other site.  I haven't been keeping up with my Lexington searches lately, as the odds of me moving there have gotten very slim, so I don't know if the other site is still open.
• Cavalier Comics, Pound/Norton VA:  In my searches, I discovered this comic shop right across the border in Virginia.  I printed a map for the directions and convinced my mom that we should go there for the first time in years, just so I could stop there and check this place out.  We stopped there on the way back from the shopping center complexes in Norton.  It was slightly easier to get to on the return trip.  The store turned out to be slightly smaller than Page 3 was, at the time.  There TTRPG section in the back room was sparse.  Only two WoD products, and I had them both.  I didn't stop there again, at least the relatively few times in went back to Virginia.  Flash forward to the mid-2010s. I had started going back to Norton a few times a year.  I had noticed that Cavalier had moved/opened a second location at the shopping centers.  I strongly believe it was the former, as they had a small selection of CoD books, which had stopped being published for physical stores a few years previously.  They even had one of the last WoD books, which had come out over ten years before by then.  There wasn't anything I particularly was looking for, and I felt awkward to ask if they had anything else not currently on display.  I was just too close to Page 3 to ask.  I stopped in to the new location (about the size of Page 3's second site) a few times before I stopped the Norton trips in 2019, partially due to the pandemic.  Also, the shopping centers just didn't have the same feel any more after a few too many stores went out. I still think they are open though.

        In my searches, I went to many other collectables, hobby, and book stores, but these were the only other ones that I definitively saw my TTRPG products.  Noticeably missing is CK Gaming, Fayette Mall, Lexington.  While one wouldn't expect a store so new to have such older products, I have yet seen any WoD fifth edition products or even the limited-run print copies of WoD20/CoD/Exalted either.  Now, they might have a used/older product service that I don't know about and am too awkward to ask about, but the newer stuff lack is unusual.  Lexington felt like a hotbed for WoD back in the day.  Either the owners don't like the newer material or that thrill has left the area.  At least for their target shopper base.  I still look out for any older material to get a physical replacement for what I lost or missed out on, even though digital copies are available. I just wish I could find my own thrill again, or someone closer to share my hobby with.

    This has been my game world.

Welcome to My Game World, Part Four

    This week, I will be covering the other places where I have picked up my RPGs.  While none of these stores come close to the numbers as the previous three, each one holds a special place for me, albeit for differing reasons.  Here is the list, bulleted as always.

• Read-a-lot bookstore, Paintsville.  I usually make a pre-Christmas shopping trip around Thanksgiving.  Mostly before, be sometimes after.  For November 1998, that trip was to the Huntington Mall.  As tradition, we stopped off in Painstville for groceries and here.  I bought an exercise magazine and two books:  the Player's Guide to the Sabbat for V:tM and Mage:  the Ascension, 2nd ed (M:tAs), which would become my most favorite game line in the WoD. (I liked it so much that it was the only older rule book I tried to get back after the 2003 flood.) I would stop back here after every trip to the Huntington Mall, and whenever I could sneak off on my trips taking my mom to work.  I would look at their small selection, but I never could make myself buy anything.  I was just too unsure about wanting any particular book. However, after the 2000 pre-Christmas trip, I found out the store had closed.  I'm sure it was only a coincidence that one of the books I had been looking at turned up at Page 3 in a used condition, along with a bunch of other recent trade-ins.
• Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Lexington.  I used to make shopping trips around my birthday, sometime between mid-January and early February. (I have since moved these trips to late February to avoid the worst of the cold weather and to get early Easter treats.) The trip to Lexington in 1998 was cold, but otherwise clear.  That morning I picked up Changeling: the Dreaming 2nd ed (C:tD) as my next game line. It was the only one in color, at the time. (Turns out, all of the 1st ed books for the line had been in color. The treatment ended after this book came out.) The summer trip brought out the biggest catch ever with Beyond the Barriers: The Book of Worlds for M:tAs, my most favorite supplement of all time.  It was also the largest paperback supplement they ever published.  I actually had my mom drive much of the way back, just so I could look at my books [see next entry].   For my birthday trip in 99, I just missed hailstorms in the morning and the threat of rain all afternoon, but I was able to pick up three supplements for C:tD and W:tO that afternoon. The 2000 summer trip brought me two books for V:tM and the Revised ed of M:tAs, which Page 3 somehow missed for me again. It wouldn't be until 2003 that I would pick up any more books from here, as I was able to get a few replacement after the flood. The final book I would get there would be a CoD core book, Mage:  the Awakening, M:tAw. Again, missed order from Page 3. After that, the selection really started to wain, even before the books left physical stores.  I guess the employee who was into  RPGs, the WoD specifically, had left.  As of my latest visit there, they had very few RPGs, basically some stuff for D + D, and the books were shelved under reference and no with games.  Odd choice, but at least they had some.
• Waldenbooks, Fayette Mall, Lexington.  I had looked at a few WoD books here before, but it wouldn't be until they moved next to the Apple Store, that I would find something there in the summer of 98.  After getting Book of Worlds that morning [see above], I would get Wraith: the Oblivion 2nd ed (W:tO) early that afternoon.  It was the last of the first games that I needed to get.  I would look through it while my mom was shopping and trying things on. (I'm now the one who seems to be doing more of that nowadays.) In 99, my luck would continue, getting Wraith:  the Great War (W:tGW) in the summer and Hunter: the Reckoning (H:tR) at Thanksgiving. Again, missed orders from Page 3. After that, my luck ran out.  For while they still carried WoD through the end of the line in 2004, I never did find anything I wanted.  By the time of the Thanksgiving trip that fall, Waldenbooks had gone out of business.  I'm actually surprised it lasted so much longer than other sites.  I miss not being able to get anything to look at though, while waiting around for others to finish their shopping.
• Borders and BAM, Huntington Mall.  I'm combing these two, because neither one had that many books that I got.  When a bunch of store closed to allow Borders to come in (including a hobby store that probably had RPGs, but it closed before I started collecting them), I was thrilled that the Mall finally had a mega-book store similar to Joseph-Beth in Lexington. Sure, the smaller ones the Mall had were okay, but I thought Borders would be much better.  Well, it was, sort of. I would get one M:tAs supplement in the summer of 99, and another in the fall.  [I think I made extra trips that year to help mom look for a new dress for one of her 'off-year' reunions.] I would find other books, but I would mostly buy them elsewhere. The only time I had a great haul there was in 2003 when I bought over $80 worth of replacement books from the flood, the most I ever spent at a book store ever. (I may have bought a mag or two as well, I can't remember the full details.) When Borders went out and BAM came in, the selection remained about the same.  By then, I was pretty much getting everything through my store, so I was just there to see what was out.  The only time I actually bought something was in 2010 when I discovered the last books that were coming out physically from White Wolf. I had somehow missed the notice that they are out. I would buy one of them and looked at it a bit while shopping.  To this day, it is the last time I bough a book on a shopping trip.  As of the last time I stopped there, BAM still had a selection of RPGs, including some V5 books.  At least one of them had been there since it came out.  However, all of the books appeared to be first printings from the original publisher, not the current one.  How a store could still have books that are six years old, replenishing stock and not new, is beyond me.

Welcome to My Game World, Part Three

    When White Wolf made the decision to stop selling their RPGs through physical retail stores, I was devastated, since I owned a book store, but I didn't have a computer.  I tried to keep up with the new releases for a while, but I stopped after a year or two, just as the White Wolf business was retired by the name's new owner.  Many of the original developers formed a new company, Onyx Path Publishing (OPP), and moved from Atlanta to Pennsylvania. Sometime around 2017, or early 2018, I started to get back into my RPGs, mostly when I finally joined social media.  I couldn't believe about everything that happened in my time away.  I found out that Paradox, a Norwegian video company that now owned the IP for WOD, as well as COD and Exalted,  was coming out with a fifth edition of V:tM, although through a different publisher.  There were a few hiccups, including going through multiple publishers, but there is a flow of new WOD5 products, not that I am completely interested in them.  I was much more interested in what OPP was doing with the 20th Anniversary editions of the old WOD game lines.  In early 2019, I found out that OPPs partner in distributing the PDF and print-on-demand (POD) versions of their products, Drivethrurpg.com, was having a sale.  Since I now had a computer, and a credit card (don't judge me), I decided to buy all six of the 20th editions of the core books that had been released (Vampire:  The Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Mage: the Ascension, Wraith: the Oblivion, Changeling: the Dreaming, and Vampire: the Dark Ages). [V:tM, W:tA, M:tAs, W:tO,C:tD, and V:DA respectively] It felt a little naughty buying those PDFs, but it was worth it.  It was also much cheaper than buying the PODs and having to wait a few weeks to have them delivered.  Probably to my store, which would have been awkward. Strangely enough, the PODs would have been made by Lightning Source, which might just be the parent company of Drivethrurpg.com, as well as a possible division of Ingram at one time and maybe still.  I glanced through the PDFs that night and the next day, but I never fully read them.  I didn't have the time and reading digital screens too long hurts my eyes.  However, I was hooked again.  I would end up slowly buying PDFs of the "20s" books whenever a sale came on.  Most of them were funded through crowdsourcing, including the core books.  As bonuses, I could have gotten PDFs of many of the books I lost in the 2003 flood, if I had only known.  I would later join in the campaigns for a few new books in the line.  Unfortunately, the bonuses I got were mostly the new books.  The older books I was able to add-on were either ones I was fortunate enough to get replacements for or ones I didn't get the first time around. I even almost joined the campaigns for special V5 supplements that OPP got the chance to publish, but I passed over on one and chickened out at the last minute on the other.  Literally, there were only about ten minutes left when I decided not to do it. I just felt unsure about the process.  I did start with the next available campaign in 2020 though.  Now, I have just about bought all of the 20th Anniversary books that have been made, and I am starting on the older, original books that I lost in 2003.  I might start going to books I missed out on after that, if I can make it that long.  See, I am scared that another show is getting ready to drop.  There are only three supplements scheduled to come out, and after that, nothing.  There hasn't been anything announced for COD either for months, although Exalted still has plenty in the pipeline. (I'm not getting either line, as I was never as hot for them as I was for WOD.) I'm thinking that Paradox doesn't want the competition, especially since the new WOD5 material coming out is dividing the fanbase, with many older fans like myself not liking them so much.  Plus, the changes Paradox has been forcing on the WOD20 material has been harsh at times.  I'm afraid that they will stop allowing the products to be available, forcing people to pick up their fifth edition or else go without. I haven't been downloading all of my purchases, as I'm afraid that I won't have enough memory on my computer to hold everything. In fact, I think that memory drain helped kill my old one. I also don't have outside storage, or know how to use it.  Printing off everything would be tricky as well, as the core books have hundreds of pages each. Still, I'm looking forward for my last three new books.  One could be out by the end of the year. I just hope my new digital collection doesn't fade away any time soon.

    [I should add that I've gotten other digital books from other sources. Some of the first V5 products had codes for the free PDF copies, but they were lost on my old computer, as well as some other free materials provided by Paradox.  I have downloaded a few other new things, including wallpapers, but I don't really care for most of them, but they were free. I am currently contemplating purchasing a bundle of WOD5 products for a very low price.  I don't want many of them, but the thought of getting some rarer products cheap might be too hard to pass up.  The next products I get will push my past 350 total books, so I am considering things very tightly.]

    Next week, I go over the other places where I have gotten books, just not in the sheer numbers as these first three spots.  Every one was equally important.

Welcome to My Game World, Part Two

    By 1999, my mom was sick and tired about me being unemployed, so she forced me to open up my own business, even though I had experience in retail.  I ultimately decided to open a book store, Booknotes. (We were originally supposed to be a music store as well, but that part never came to fruition.) I wanted to open a book store, in part, so I would have an easier time getting my RPGs more readily.  Unfortunately, the book distributor my mom chose to be the primary one, Koen, turned out not to carry my WOD games, only their novels. They carried other RPGs, just not the ones I wanted.  Fortunately, our secondary distributor, Ingram, the largest one in the country, did carry my games.  We opened the store on October 7, 2000.  A month later, I would order my first book from them, Mediums:  Speakers with the Dead for the Wraith: the Oblivion (W:tO) game line.  I had scoured the microfiche for any old products I was missing, and this was the only one they had left from the recently ended game. (Yes, they still sent out microfiche at that time.  The process was discontinued a few years after we opened.) I would go on to order many older products, as well as newer ones that I had changed my mind on and didn't originally order from Page 3. Yes, I also wound up getting books from Ingram that I already pre-ordered from Page 3. I got greedy sometimes on the prospect of getting my books a little earlier, especially if Page 3 missed my order.  I felt guilty when I had to decline an order that I had already gotten, but it couldn't be helped.  I once got six new books in one shipment, all because they were released early to stores. When I lost most of my books in the 2003 flood, I was able to get many of the core books back due to Ingram. Not all of them, but the bare basics.  When White Wolf ended the WOD and started what would become the COD in 2004, I got my first books through my store.  I almost went to Page 3 to show them off, but thought better about it.  In 2005, Koen was experiencing some financial trouble, forcing us to get a new primary distributor, Baker and Taylor (B+T), and they were carrying both COD and Exalted, making my life the more easier. I would get most of my RPGs through my store with this, getting most through B+T with the occasional orders through Ingram whenever I needed to, especially after Page 3 missed almost an entire year with my orders. (Koen would come back later in 2005 as Koen-Levy, only to permanently folding in 2007.)  Though late 2009, I starting noticing a delay in my books from B+T. This would be the first hints of how White Wolf would switch to online products in late 2010.  I wound up ordering most of the last of my physical books in early 2011.  I missed out on one last book.  It was only available at a different warehouse when I placed the order.  In an effort to save money, I decided to wait until it was back at one of our designated locations, but it never came back. It still irks me that I missed out on that last book.  Nothing much happened on this point until 2018, when Paradox, the current owner of the WOD IP, as well as COD and Exalted, decided to come out with a Fifth Edition of the games.  While I would get Vampire:  the Masquerade (V5) from Page 3, I would get other supplements through Ingram. (In the intervening years, B+T would be bought out/merged with another distributor, Follet.  In 2019, the company decided to leave the North American retail market, to focus on libraries and parts of the international market. Many employees and customers weren't aware that this was happening until the public announcement went out.  The two companies have since split again, with Follet focusing on public libraries again, and with B+T focusing on institutional libraries, such as universities. I think they still have some presence in international retail, but I don't believe they have made any commitments to the North American market.) I was planning on a return on getting my books through Ingram again, supplemented perhaps with Page 3, when a blow came in January 2022.  That's when Ingram stopped carrying products from Renegade Game Studios, the publisher Paradox chose to design the new books, the third one to do so after problems with the previous two.  This left me with no reliable outlet for new books again. Sure, I still order other books for myself.  And Booknotes is now the only general book store in a twenty-five to thirty mile radius, or so.  Still, having the main reason why I opened the place gone again is still heart-breaking in many ways. I hoping that I will get another outlet again one day, but it is very doubtful.

    Come back next week to see where I've been getting the majority of my game books for the last few years.  One of the words in the previous sentence needed to be in quotes. 

[Edit: A few days after I originally posted this, I found out the Ingram does still offer a few of my WOD RPGs.  Not the biggest selection, and most of them are newer books, but they are offering some.]

Welcome to My Game World, Part One

    Back in the 90s, when I was unemployed, I would sometimes accompany my mom to work in Prestonsburg once or twice a month to break the monotony of staying at home.  I would spend the mornings at the library, reading the newspaper, working the crossword puzzle, looking at the stacks, and goofing off on the computers, once they were installed.  In the afternoons, I would go shopping.  Sometimes, I would sneak off to Paintsville just to see some of the stores there.  Other times, I would go to Pikeville to pick up my comic books at Page 3. While they would keep them for a few weeks, I still felt better picking them up more regularly when able.  This one time, in late September 1997, I went to pick up my comics, as well as something else. I had made the decision to finally get into RPGs, in particular World of Darkness (WOD).  I had learned enough about the game line from my gaming magazines (I was slightly into the Magic:  the Gathering trading card game at the time, although I didn't feel good enough to compete, only collect the cards.) to finally get one of the books.  However, on that day, Page 3 was out of the premiere game in the system, Vampire:  the Masquerade. (VtM) They did have the recently released historical version, Vampire:  the Dark Ages instead (VtDA), so I got it.  I'm glad I did, as I later found out the VtDA was a larger book with a wider range of material included than VtM.  I hid the book in the trunk of my car, so my mom wouldn't know of my Pikeville trip, and went back to Prestonsburg to pick her up.  The following day, I literally read that book cover to cover, writing credits to index.  I was overcome with the game world and systems.  Something about it just clicked with me. When I went back to Pikeville/Page 3 that following Saturday (I had to fake picking up my comics so my mom wouldn't get too suspicious) I picked up the Dark Ages Companion supplement just so that I could continue my experience. A month later, late October, I was back in Pikeville on one of my then monthly solo trips, this time to pick  up the Halloween candy. I stopped by Page 3 first thing that morning to pick up my comics.  They finally had VtM (2ed) back in stock, so I bought it. I would take peeks at it in between stops to shop and browse.  I couldn't believe how skinny the book was and how little it actually had in it. (I didn't know that it was the first book in the WOD line and many of the latter games, rules, and secondary features hadn't been thought up yet, so they weren't included.) I would stop back at Page 3 on my way out of town that afternoon and bought the Vampire Player's Guide (also 2ed) to get the wider experience.  Probably the only time I ever stopped and bought something twice in the same day there.  I would go on to get Werewolf:  the Apocalypse (WtA, 2ed) just before Christmas and some supplements for it after with Christmas money.  I would buy my first new book, Kindred of the East, the following spring there. I would go on to order many more new books, as well as some older ones,  to try and ensure that I would get them, starting with Mage:  the Sorcerer's Crusade that spring.  Sometimes, Page 3 wouldn't get my books in.  Other times, I would wind up buying a book I wasn't planning on getting, but I would buy it after looking it over. Unfortunately, I would sometimes get a book elsewhere and have to decline an order. I would get the Revised/Third edition of VtM there in the fall of 1998.  I would get the high-fantasy prequel spinoff game Exalted in 2001.  When the WOD game line ended, I would get many of the Chronicles of Darkness (COD) (originally called the 'new' World of Darkness) follow-up games there.  Sure, there was a gap of about a year when they missed every single special order I made, but I still made due.  I was able to pick up some used copies of books a lost in the 2003 flood there, most of them many years later.  I was even asked to join the store's game session a few times, but I politely refused.  I was unsure if I could play with strangers, not to mention having to drive almost thirty miles, at night, was not the best of ideas. When the current owners of the WOD property finally came out with a Fifth edition of VtM, I picked up my copy at Page 3.  I would go on to pick up other Fifth edition books there, including WtA.  In fact, if it wasn't for my pre-order discount and store credit, I wouldn't have bought WtA, as it turned out to be less than a perfect product. [I went into a very detailed review of W5 on an online forum.  Basically, it's an okay game for beginners, albeit one with many mistakes; it is not a great game for veteran players, especially to those of the older versions of the game.] As of now, Page 3 is the only retail location I can get physical copies of new books, if I chose to get them.  I've tried to order a few before the W5 fiasco, but they weren't able to get them. So, I am unsure what to do if I change my mind.  They are literally the only place in town to get the physical copies, but they can't always get them. It is kind of sad to see this happen, but if they get any more of the original, older stuff back, I am sure to look them over.

    [You may have noticed a few gaps in the timeline.  Future installments in this series will slowly fill these gaps in. Next week, I will cover a very special place to me, my own store. There is a reason why I own a book store after all.]

Welcome to My Game World, an Introduction

    Back in the mid to late 90s, I was having a hard time with my life.  I couldn't get a job.  I hate no social life, didn't even know how to have one.  I decided to try and re-invent myself in an effort to perk me up.  I took up weightlifting at home.  I upgraded my wardrobe.  I tried to go deeper into video games.  However, the one thing that made me feel better was deciding to get into roleplaying games (RPGs or TTRPRGs for 'tabletop' as many are calling them now to differentiate them from video game versions).  Specifically, "World of Darkness," or WOD.  I know that there have been a lot of controversies over the years about this system, but for some reason its take on modern horror-fantasy just clicked with me in ways that the high-fantasy worlds of "Dungeons and Dragons" just didn't hit. When I bought my first book, about twenty-seven years ago this week, I just knew I found my calling.  I read that first book cover to cover, even the index, just about.  I was so enthralled by the line, that I bought a second book just a few days later.  I'm not sure what the plan initially was, maybe learn as much as I could before finding a group to join to actually play or something.  I would go out to find core books that appealed to me, before also moving on to new ones as soon as they came out.  I the height of my collecting, as was averaging at least two books per month, possibly closer to three. Frequently more than that when I could.  I never felt confident enough to look for a playgroup to join, but I did start getting ideas for games.  In fact, barely a year after I first started with the WOD, I had the first inklings for a game line set in the same world.  For years, I wavered on what I could do for a career, since I couldn't get a job and I didn't like that business I was forced to start.  One of my options was trying to get into game design.  I lacked the confidence, but I decided to finally choose something just after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out in June of 2003. Just before I could make a decision, a huge flood came and devastated my life.  At the time, I had over 150 books in my WOD collection, including the new "Exalted" line set in a forerunner high fantasy setting.  Over 85% of my collection was affected.  I was able to replace some of the books, including most of the core rule books.  I managed to temporarily save most of the rest, and I painstakingly salvaged as much information from them as I could.  I was tricky work and took many years, and I probably missed a lot of information I should've kept.  To add insult to injury, White Wolf, the publisher, announced that August that they were going to end the original WOD in 2004 and replace it with a new version.  I was reeling, my dreams put on hold again.  I would go on to collect the last books of the original line, and I waited until the following August to get the first books in the new World of Darkness, nWOD which was renamed the Chronicles of Darkness or COD many years later.  Some of the terms and systems were the same, but there were enough differences to make me be unsure if I really liked it or not.  For one thing, all of the books would be hardcover, and therefore more expensive.  Another thing, my own game might fit this new world a little better.  I waited until more games were introduced to see where they were going, making plans for my own game. However, when the fifth game in the new line was introduced in 2007, I started to have doubts about my own ideas.  I quickly pivoted on remaking a one of the old lines into something that would work in the nWOD.  I worked with the few bits I had from my old collection, and I even printed out some material online so that I could a better working on the idea.  It took me a year, but when I finally finished my rough draft of notes, I felt hollow.  Turns out that the publisher announced a new game to release in 2009 that would have made my second game idea irrelevant.   New books started to come out less frequently after that until 2010/2011 when the company changed its publishing model.  They were going to a digital download/print on demand model, PDF and POD. Since I didn't own a computer at the time, I was out of luck.  I would check on them now and again, seeing what books were planned, but I basically gave up on them for a few years.  By 2018, my life I changed. I had started looking for the books online again, finding out that the original White Wolf line had been folded by the company's current owner, Paradox, the third Scandinavian video company in row to own it.  Some of the original talent formed their own company, Onyx Path Publishing (OPP)  to publish both Exalted and COD through an agreement, as well as new WOD material connected to the original game line's twentieth anniversary.  Many of these new books were funded through crowdsourcing.  Not only that, but Paradox was putting out a new fifth edition of the WOD books, without the direct help of much of the original talent. Well, not only did I now have a computer, but a credit card as well.  I would wind up downloading many of the new WOD products (I didn't like the other two lines enough to bother with their latest products), as well as helping fund some of the new books.  I would pick up the new Fifth Edition material, although I am in the group of older fans that think the new stuff is highly flawed.  I mean, some of the missteps are quite bad.  I'm not sure if I will be getting any more of it.  Now, I'm just waiting to see if the current owner will put an end to allowing the older material to still be available before I can finish buying it whenever I have the extra funds.  I have multiple ideas, not just for that old game line, but other new products.  However, I feel that the time has passed on becoming a game designer. Sure, I could earn a few bucks making fan products, but I don't have the computer expertise to handle it.  It is still a pipe dream to do something with my ideas, even if I have yet to play an actual game with a group. For the month of October, I will be doing a special series of post about my love for the WOD, similar to what I did with comic books earlier this year.  There will be differences, as I have twenty fewer years of collecting with a six year gap, but this means I can go deeper into how this has affected my life.  This will include expanding on some of the details I glossed over in this post.  Welcome to my game world.  Not everything is as dark as it seems.

One Hundred Videos on YouTube, One Videos in All

    Earlier this morning, I posted my 100th "Making the Logo" video on my channel. Find it here. I was supposed to upload last night, but I forgot.  That happens a lot actually.  Anyway, this is a special event for me, if even my count might not be entirely correct.  I could be off by a few, either way. I started making these logos years before I started recording the event.  Here's how it began. When we first opened my store, BookNotes, we borrowed a few easels for display purposes, two small easels and two large ones. Sometime after the store's opening, we returned three of the easels, but we kept one of the large ones.  The easel's original owners ultimately just threw them out, but that is beside the point. We used to easel to support a dry erase board to present various messages, such as sales or if we would be opening up late/be closed for a day. The board got knocked over one day, shattering the frame. I still have all the pieces, but I usually just use the bottom one to help support the board. Well, I eventually got 'bored' with just seeing the same old name being used, so I thought of ways to jazz it up.  One of the first times was for Halloween.  I made each "o" in book into an eye and placed a slight mouth underneath them, as well as a faint outline making it sort of like a ghost.  Making the left side of the "k" into an exclamation point made it look like it was a ghost shouting "BOO!" Over the next few years, I would come up with other ideas tying the logo into the current season or holiday somehow.  At the time, I didn't know that Google pretty much did the same thing with their logo. (I was using Yahoo at the time whenever I got online at the public library.) When I first got my own computer in the summer of 2018, a MacBook Pro, I realized it had an app, Photo Booth, that could be used to take both photos and videos. I immediately realized a potential venue for social media content, and I decided to start filming my logo making sessions. (Yes, I know about Apples' iMovie app as well.  I have tried it out a few times, but never for "Making the Logo."  There is just too much for me to fully understand, and the few times I have tried it hasn't produced good results.) That first video had watermelons as the theme, with each "o" made into a green striped watermelon; the final one was cut open to see the pink insides and seeds.  Fruit has been a common element, from apples to pawpaws, with the "o" being the most common letter altered.  "Ts" have been used as scarecrows.  "Ks" have been people raking leaves.  Once, I even made each letter into a rabbit, but I might not have filmed that one.  Many of the earliest videos don't have a title, something I'm slowing changing. I crosspost the clips onto both my Facebook, and, later, LinkedIn pages.  I usually upload the video directly onto my store's Facebook page, for various reasons I don't want to go into. Over the years, I done a lot to my store's logo.  While I usually just alter a few elements, as I mentioned above, I sometimes make the entire logo into a picture instead.  I've had the logo on a birthday cake, and the letters throwing a birthday party. I gone vertical with a multi-scoop ice cream cone, and I've gone totally random with debris from a tornado. I've done minimalist with a cherry blossom branch with the logo written small on the side, and I've gone all out with the letters as tracks on a roller coaster.  I managed to keep the series going even during lockdown, quickly crafting videos on the fly on my irregular trips to the store to check on it, without opening. Two of my favorite videos would have to be 'Jellybeans" and "Scarf." The former is just a row of different colored jellybeans, with the letters erased out of them using a negative technique. The latter is one of the longest and most intricate designs I've ever pulled off.  The logo is made to look like it was knitted multiple times along the entire length of the scarf, wrapped around a person's neck.  The scarf is in multiple shades of blue, with a snowflake design replacing each of the "Os."  The scarf is wrapped in such a way the each part of the logo is visible at either end, just before the tassels. For my 100th video, I went simple.  Just a basic logo in blue, with a red play button, similar to the YouTube symbol, in place of the final "o." There is also a surprise hidden in the video, but you'll have to watch it to find it.  This is also the first time I ever spoke in the video, so I hope you can hear me. Here's looking at me!

Eating My Cake and Having It Too

    I hate to say this, but my mom is a horrible cook.  When growing up, she would rarely use eggs in her baking.  This helped lead into very bad cakes, as well as a slight egg sensitivity in me.  I can usually stand eggs when incorporated and baked into other things, but having them by themselves, especially uncooked when baking, can cause problems.  Even today, with multiple egg substitutes available, I go to packaged baked goods or otherwise pre-made rather than baking on my own. (Two words can sum up the rest of my mom's cooking--boiled steak. To this day, I have an aversion to steak just because of this lone abomination in cooking.  It also led me to learn how to cook on my own, and I must say my style is much better than some of the things my mother has tried. At least in my own opinion.) As such, I have tried many a cake, only to have them vanish from the shelves.  Sometimes, they come back in a different form.  Here are some of my favorites from over the years and what has taken their places. First comes Deluxe Zingers, originally from Dolly Madison, a subsidiary division of Hostess.  These were cakes with a layer of creme filling between two layers, topped with more of a frosting situation and sprinkles.  It could have been a fondant, but I can't be sure.  They came in multiple flavors, but I pretty much stuck to chocolate. Unfortunately, Dolly Madison went out of business with all the other divisions when Hostess shut down. It never came back.  Today, all I'm stuck with are regular Zingers, creme-filled rectangular cakes with a layer of fondant on top.  They come in chocolate, vanilla, and the horror known as raspberry with coconut.  How? How?  Next, also from Hostess, is the Chocodile.  Basically, this was a chocolate-coated Twinkie.  I preferred the special limited-edition 'Banana Split' flavor.  This was more of a Zinger-shaped rectangular cake with a banana-flavored creme filling, topped with a layer of strawberry 'jelly,' and then enrobed in a chocolate coating. These have yet to come back, although banana Twinkies are still around. I've tried a similar product from a Mexico based bakery, but there are many differences.  First, the cake has a layer of standard creme over most of the top, just missing one end.  Then, it has a layer of pineapple jelly on top of that, dyed red.  Finally, the entire thing is coated in chocolate and sprinkled with miniature chocolate chips.  While the chips were a nice touch, the rest of it didn't live up to the original. This brings us to Tastykake Chocolate Bells.  They were a simple concept.  Just a creme-filled chocolate cupcake, turned upside-down, and enrobed in chocolate. Nothing else.  They were sort of like a Ding Dong, but I loved them to no end compared to the Hostess product.  Unfortunately, they were never around on a steady basis and are no longer being made.  Another company has recently come out with two different takes on the product to mixed results.  First is a triple-chocolate version with chocolate cake, a chocolate-creme filling, and a striped chocolate coating.  The filling tends to blend into the cake, and coating is a little thin.  There is also a cookies-n-creme version with a chocolate-chip studded golden cake, chocolate creme filling, and a white coating with chocolate stripes.  An interesting combination, but I feel that it is just a tad off somehow.  Next comes a product whose current version might just be better, jelly swirls.  Basically, a jelly swirl is a honey bun, but with the cinnamon replaced with a fruit filling.  If there is any cinnamon in these, I couldn't taste it. The original company went out of business years ago, but another one still makes them as part of their fairly wide honey bun selection. However, their swirls have a thicker drizzle of icing and bigger dollops of jelly between the cake swirls.  I am a little put off by the lack of a fruit listed in the ingredients.  I remember the original ones listing boysenberry as the main fruit, but the current ones don't have a single fruit on the list.  So what is the jelly made of?  Scary.  Finally there is my most favorite treat of all, the banana flip.  These were circles of yellow cake with a lightly flavored banana filling and folded over partially like a taco.  My favorite brand used a firmer filling than others, that got especially hard when refrigerated. I loved these.  Unfortunately, the company went out of business before being brought back as part of a store-brand.  While many products came back, these weren't one of them.  I tried other brands, but they weren't the same.  The cake bottom was always too brown. The cake broke completely upon folding instead of just starting to crack.  The filling was a standard creme with barely any banana flavor that wouldn't harden up in the refrigerator. These too were phased out.  Now, there might be one company that still bakes these.  I may have seen them years ago, out of town, but I don't remember trying one.  I think it was because if I liked it, I didn't want to face the fact that I might never have the chance to try it again.  I'm not even sure if the company still has them, after I did a brief internet search on them.  At least I have some products still out there, just not the best ones.

The Clothes That Made This Man

    When I did my special series earlier this year about my comic book history, I mentioned how I almost did one about my clothes history.  I didn't, because much of it would be about the same few stores, just at different locations in the chain.  However, I got to thinking about some of the clothes I actually purchased. This week, I will be going down some of my most favorite clothing choices.  Not everything is mentioned, because a lot of the things I've worn, I either don't care about or don't feel as special about.  In only a slightly particular order, here are some of my favorite outfits.

• Favorite sneakers: Two-toned black-and-white Reeboks, Sears, Huntington Mall.  For the most part, I had gotten solid color shoes.  Sure, some of the pairs I had as a kid may have had more than one color, but I generally chose black or white by the time I picked Reebok as my go-to brand.  Then, one day at this Sears, I saw this pair just sitting there.  Most of the time, athletic shoes were either solid or a mishmash of color.  These were fashion-forward, black with white trim.  And they had my size, that actually fit. Sometimes, even the right size doesn't quite fit.  I was barely looking for new shoes, but I got them anyway.  I made sure not to wear them too often and never on rainy days those first few months.  Even then, the soles started to peel off.  While I could have had someone try to repair them, my mother strongly urged me to throw them away instead, while at the same time convincing me to keep other shoes in worse shape.  Really hurt my heart.  I've since bought a new fashionable pair of tri-colored Reeboks (blue with white trim and yellow highlights), ordered from JCPenny's and not available from the Reeboks site.  They are not them same as the old ones, but they are holding up, except for the aglets on the laces.  I can't find replacement blue laces anywhere.
• Favorite jackets, tie: Blue-grey 'baseball' jacket, unknown, and color blocked silk jacket, Dawahare's, Weddington Plaza.  Back in seventh, eighth grade, my mom got me a jacket similar to what baseball players would wear with cuffs on the sleeve and trim on the waist.  Sort of like Members Only, but with snaps instead of a zipper and no chest pockets, inside or out.  I wore it all the time, into my freshman year of high school. Then, it vanished by the end of the year.  I found it again early in my sophomore year.  By then, I was a bit taller. I mostly wore it unsnapped because the top ones were tight and with the sleeves rolled up to prevent anyone noticing that the cuffs didn't hit my wrists anymore. I even wrote on the back by then.  I loved it, as it made me feel cool.  However, by my junior year, I was about a foot taller than when I first bought it. (I never had one big growth spurt during puberty, just a bunch of smaller ones spread out over the years. And yes, it was a pain always being one of the smallest boys in my class, if not the school, until my senior year.). I definitely had to stop wearing it, converting to the similar styled Members Only.  I still wear a modern knock-off of one in gray. In college, I managed to find something similar to my old jacket.  It was a silk jacket with a color block design.  Mostly black for the back, but with patches in blue, gold, and other colors.  I could only wear it during early spring, early fall, and the occasional cool summer morning, on days without rain obviously. I wore it for over fifteen years, until I accidentally tore it.  I couldn't repair it, but I still have it.  I just don't wear it.  I hate that, but it is too special to throw out like I did with the first one.
• Favorite jeans:  Purple(?!)/grey Levi's, JCPenny's, Huntington Mall.  I didn't start wearing jeans until college or so, as I really didn't have the body for it until then.  The majority were grey.  (Yes, I have bought actual blue jeans. I currently have a pair of blue 501 button-flies, but it is my only pair that is blue.) While shopping at the mall, I noticed a sale on Levi's in off-season colors, including a kind of purplish pair.  I always try on jeans when they are on sale, so I found one in my perfect size, no need to hem or anything.  It was a weird color, but I looked great in them. Since then, the purple has faded into a great shade of mostly gray.  They are my go-to jeans, especially since my backside, what little there is of it (I need to do more deadlifts that focus on my glutes.), look great in them.  Sure, I have many others in my jeans cycle, but I feel these are the best.
• Favorite dress shirt:  Striped INC, Macy's, Fayette Mall.  I was shopping with my mom, and I had to wait while she was in the restroom.  She doesn't like me wandering, so I was forced to browse nearby.  The INC department were near the restroom entrance at the time, so I was looking over the shirts when I saw this.  It was a vertical striped shirt, in brown, white, yellow, and others.  It was totally not me, but it was me at the same time.  I was rarely needing to wear a dress shirt at the time, but this one grabbed me.  It was a challenge to get my mom on board with the idea, but I bought it that day, my first new dress shirt in over a decade.  A year later, I bought a second one in blue, red, and white stripes.  That one was a little looser, and more formal looking.  I loved the first one, even though it was a tad tight.  It would get even more tight when I added a bit more upper body muscle.  Not enough to prevent me from wearing it, but enough to keep me from buttoning the top one. It didn't matter, because I would lose that top button, as well as the replacement ones.  I haven't worn any of my dress shirts since the pandemic lockdowns, but I would still like to wear this one, even if it isn't as formal as it once was.
• Favorite pullover shirt;  Color-block, striped long sleeve, JCPenny's.  It was a Friday, my freshman year of high school.  My mom had ordered me some clothes that had just arrived that day while I was at school.  I was getting ready to go to the football game that night to play with the band, but my mom thought it was too cool to wear what I wore to school that day.  She had me put on my new shirt.  It had blue-violet shoulders and chest with white sleeves and bottom, with multiple stripes between.  I remember orange and yellow, but it was not a complete rainbow.  I hated to wear it that night, but I grew to love it over the rest of the school year.  Then, that summer, my grandmother cut the sleeves off and had me wear it at home, without asking me first.  Now, I had only grown an inch or two since I first got it, and the shirt was still a little loose.  I probably could have worn it for at least a few times during the fall of my sophomore year.  It wasn't fair, as the least she could have done was ask me first.  Since then, I have almost always gotten shirts in solid colors or color-blocking, no patterns like this shirt.  Yes, there are exceptions, such as my red-orange to navy blue ombré, but these are mostly recent additions over the past few years.
• Favorite board shorts: Light blue with a special design, unknown.  This one is a little different, especially in how I got them. It was early June, my last day of high school.  It was just after graduation practice, and I asked to go with a friend to play ball with him.  I had never had done that before, since I'm horrible at basketball, but I felt that I should take a chance.  Technically, I wasn't supposed to do that, but I was eighteen and it felt right.  He drove me to his home, the only time I ever went, and we played ball with a bunch of other guys.  We then went for a brief swim.  I was wearing shorts, but not swimming trunks.  I was worried I'd get caught if I came home wet, so he gave me a pair of his shorts to change into in his room.  They were blue, with a pattern of skeletons on skateboards on them. Now, he was at least five inches taller than me, so while these shorts would have looked good on him, they went well below the knees on me.  Now, I don't know if they were old, or just something he had around that I never saw him wear before, but they were I gift I thanked him for.  Soon after, while some of the other guys were playing video games, I was driven home by another buy, again a first time event.  I was able to get my wet shorts into the dryer and switch into the pants I was supposed to have worn that day. (Yeah, I was into trouble the whole way round that day.) I only wore those shorts a few times, just around the house, as they were not my style or size.  Still, I appreciated them because of the reminder of one of the most perfect hours I had in my life of just having fun and being myself with other guys. I just wish I had been able to have had more of them, but I was kind of aloof and shy at the time, and I never did.  Today, as I'm writing this post, is that guy's birthday.  He probably won't be reading this, but I would like to thank him again for that day.  We could have, and should have, had more times like that.  If we ever see each other again, I will tell you to your face just how much you meant to me.  And Thank You for being a friend.

Octuple Espresso

    I woke up just before 1:30 am one night last week, and I had trouble falling back asleep.  I had an earworm stuck in my head.  This actually happens to me quite regularly.  Sometimes it is one overwhelming idea, but this time it was a song.  Specifically, "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter, written by Carpenter, J. Bunetta, A. Allen, and S. N. Jones. I tried everything to get my mind off the song, but it kept creeping back in. I ultimately had to use a technique an old buddy once suggested to me in high school.  Doesn't always work, but I did fall back asleep by 2:30.  Anyway, I decided to write a song about it.  Okay, I embraced my inner "Weird Al" Yankovic and wrote a parody song about it.  I've tried doing this before, on other songs that I both either like or can't stand, but I rarely finish them.  I usually give up after coming up with a cool chorus or a few choice lyrics.  This time, I decided to go all the way. The second verse was the easiest to come up, followed by the bridge and chorus.  The first verse, specifically the ends for the first two lines kept tripping me up.  I had to find a way to end them with a two syllable beat whereas all my favorite choices were just one syllable.  I still feel like that couplet is a little off.  Note that I alternate some of the words while repeating the bridge and chorus, as the multiple suggestions work better than just using the same thing.  I also feel that my version has a better plot line than the original.  Basically, a guy who hates coffee comes up with a drink so caffeinated that one needs immediate medical attention after drinking it. (Octuple means eightfold in case anyone is wondering.) Parody is a bit of a grey area, so that is just one reason why I am only posting the lyrics as opposed to singing it.  Another is that my singing voice isn't the best, at least not at the moment.  So, without further adieu, may I present "Octuple Espresso."

OCTUPLE ESPRESSO

Now he's clutching his head

Like his brain's about to explode

Will he survive? I don't know

Octuple Espresso

Bobbing up and down, left and right

Just like a yoyo

Will he survive? I don't know

Octuple Espresso

I can't stand coffee

I don't like the taste

But I can't let all that caffeine

Just go to waste

I've got this one thought

Rattling in my noggin

For a drink, coffee snobs won't stop hoggin'

One shot just won't do for ya

Two shots, like Mountain Dew for ya

Three shots just go right through ya 

[Flushing noises] (More)

Four, five shots won't thrill ya (More)

Six shots won't even fill ya (More)

Seven shots just might kill ya

Now you're, clutching your chest

Like your heart is about to explode

Will you survive? I don't know

Octuple Espresso

Shaking up and down, left and right

Just like a yoyo

Will you survive? I don't know

Octuple Espresso

Care for a Sweet 'N' Low?

I'm working late, as a barista 

Next guy in line, looks like Dave Bautista

He sees the special, 

And he's gotta try it

Just sign this waiver

Before you buy it

One shot just won't do for ya

Two shots, like Mountain Dew for ya

Three shots just go right through ya

[Flushing noises] (More!)

Four, five shots won't thrill ya (More!)

Six shots cannot fill ya (More!)

Seven shots just might kill ya. (Dial 911!)

Now he's, clutching his head

Like his brain's gonna explode

Will he survive? I don't know

Octuple Espresso

Bobbing up and down, left and right

Just like a yoyo

Will he survive? I don't know

Octuple Espresso

He's clutching his chest (More!)

Like his heart might explode (More!)

Will he survive? I don't know 

Octuple Espresso

Shaking up and down, left and right (More!)

Just like a yoyo (More!!)

Will he survive? I don't know

Octuple Espresso

Is he gonna die? I think so

From Octuple Espresso

I Guess 'NSR' Stands for "No Subscription Required"

    A few weeks ago, I mentioned in a post about a three-month long Sirius XM free trial I had for my car, and how it was getting ready to end.  Even though the free trial ended, I still check back in to the radio every now and again, just in case there is another regular free trial in progress that I hadn't yet received notice of.  I waited a few days after the trial ended to make sure everything was over with before I checked.  First, there was channel zero, the Radio ID.  No audio, just a bunch of random letters and numbers to identify my car's radio from everyone else's.  Boring, but somewhat important.  Next came channel one, Previews.  This one is basically just ads for other channels, programs, and events.  Yes, the radio network known for ad-free music has a channel that is almost entirely ads.  If one is lucky, they can catch the channel listings.  I don't think they run all the time, but they usually are on whenever there has been a channel shake up or if one or more new channels are added/changed. Each genre block gets a mention, with breaks in between to prevent monotony.  In fact, this is how I found out about how the listings changed whenever I didn't have a free trial in my previous car, and I didn't realize that they were also available online.  Still, it isn't an ad, technically, so that counts for something.  Previously, the channel would become a simulcast of the Weather Channel in times of emergencies, such as hurricanes or huge snowstorms.  Sirius would later make it another channel instead, but they have seemed to gone out of the weather coverage.  I don't remember the last time there was a dire enough situation to warrant the temporary change.  At least it was free information when it happened. Normally, these are the only two channels available without a subscription, so I wasn't expecting anything else when I turned the dial again to get back to zero.  However, there was channel fifty-nine, the Kenny Chesney curated "NSR Radio," for 'no shoes required,' I believe. Now, occasionally, a channel pops up after a trial, only for a message to come on saying that it wasn't available, but this time the channel was airing perfectly.  I turned the dial again to see if anything else showed up, but I just went back to zero.  Chesney's channel is mostly laid back country, focusing on his repertoire, with similar country and other artists filling in the gaps.  It is quite similar to 'Radio Margaritaville," just less rock.  Country music isn't a favorite genre, so I never tried to listen to this free channel, but I would come back daily just to see if it was still there. Admittedly, it could have been worse.  I could have gotten a music genre I actually dislike, such as blues or reggae.  I could have gotten one of the Spanish or French-Canadian music channels where I couldn't understand the lyrics being song so quickly.  I could've gotten on of the political talk channels where I don't agree with what's being said.  The worst possibility of all would've been if I had one of the play-by-play channels for an off-season sport.  Nothing but updates about when baseball games were going to start and on which channels, with the occasional score update.  That would have been beyond useless to listen to during my morning commute, when no such games would be played. At least there was a chance for something I would like with 'NSR,' at least a little.

    In all honesty, I have been holding onto this story for a few weeks now.  I didn't want to mention it because I might get in trouble for having a free channel.  I was going to write this last week, but I decided that the Olympic 'junk' story had to be posted as soon as possible to be topical to the meme.  Well, soon after last week's post, 'NSR' was finally removed.  While this meant that I no longer had the situation, I had already planned to write this post for this week's blogcast.  I don't know why I had the free channel, or why it was removed.  Maybe everyone had Chesney for that time.  I never checked online or asked anyone if they had the bonus channel.  Maybe it was finally taken off for the regular Labor Day limited free trial that might be starting next week.  (It would be similar to one that just ended, just minus the channels that normally feature explicit language, such as the rap and most of the comedy channels. Also, no premium channels, and maybe few if any play-by-play channels.) Maybe it was just a random mistake that only I had.  I didn't really care.  All I knew was that I only the two always-free channels back again.  I'm still checking in regularly for the Labor Day trial though. Two weeks of variety for the types of music I rarely find anywhere else, with such a clear signal compared to both the car radio and the boombox in my store is 'hard to beat.'  Yes, one last joke from last week.  Sorry.