Today's Tom Sawyer

- A bit of fun with rock and Minecraft and gaming (with a sprinkle of commentary) in the midst of all the seriousness of the world. If you are not familiar with the source song Today's Tom Sawyer by Rush scroll down and play the song while reading. Just remember: blocks aren't permanent, but change is. Enjoy!

A modern day monster

Mean, mean stride

Today's Tom Sawyer

Mean, mean surprise

Though its mind has ill intent

Don't put it down as arrogant

Its technique is a quiet offense

Sneaking up on Steve is next

The chickens

What you say to a game company

helps them to mold their next DLC

Ask for mirth, ask for myth

Ask for mystery, Ask for wit

The world is, the world is

Square and caves are deep

Maybe as the skies are wide

Today's Tom Sawyer

It explodes on you

And the space it invades

Gets blown up too

No, this mob is not for rent

To any Notch or government

Always filled with ill content

It knows blocks aren't permanent

But change is

What you say to a game company

helps them to mold their next DLC

Ask for mirth, ask for myth

Ask for mystery, Ask for wit

The world is, the world is

Square and caves are deep

Maybe as the skies are wide

Exit the creeper

Today's Tom Sawyer

It sneaks on by you

And the emeralds you trade

He gets right on to the next noob of the day

(Check out that movie poster. Do you know the title?)

Be seeing you,

Sam

My First Renn Fest! Huzzah!

I'm a little embarrassed to say I've never been to a Renn Fest until now. That's not great Nerd Street Cred (oh yes, that's a real thing) but now I can hold my flagon high and count myself among the many blessed fold! Huzzah!

Apple creates count as a gate, right? YES THEY DO!

I attended the NY Capital District Renaissance Festival, which is held at the very nice Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont, NY.

Website here ---> Look for the Pandorica Restaurant. - I AM A LINK!

I had LOTS of preconceptions coming into today. Images from everything from the Lord of the Rings to MST3K flooded my mind. I kept my expectations low just in case, but I also kept the theme from Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell on 'repeat' in my head.

Every AD+D game I ever played.

What every AD+D game I ever played turned into.

Squeak!

There may have been a lot of Men Without Hats: Safety Dance playing in my mind but that's a rumor I will not comment on. What I found was a very good time and a well spent afternoon with the family. Indian Ladder farms is over 100 years old and now sports a brewery, farmer market, and a cafe beyond their working acreage. Did I mention it is a working farm?

Here and EVERYWHERE! Love this sign.

 Let's see some pics. Note! I was taking in so much I didn't take pics of LOTS of the stuff we enjoyed. There was a Fairy Trail for kids. The archery game (yes I made the Skyrim joke) had a bow on up to a ballista. There was a pub crawl which looked fun. And a bunch more! 

Vendors, and shopper, and tents. Oh My!

A number of fine hickory weapons were available from Hickory Arms, such as these bokken.

A fine piece befitting an elegant lady from the Kingdom of Ass Kickings.

Leather with rings of steel. I don't know the name for this configuration.

Plate armor. The glass and silverware armors were nearby. I'll be here all week.

Romeo and Juliette as told by Vixens En Garde, an all-woman fight company hailing from NYC. Neat!

The Society for Creative Anachronism braved the heat for demos and time with kids. This group is from the Barony of Concordia of the Snows.

Blacksmiths made an appearance. And like comic cons, which are more Pop Culture events, Ren Fests draw people of all interests. Because it isn't a Renn fest without a Tie Fighter.

Which explains why a Dalek was there. It isn't a Renn Fest without a Dalek.

I spoke with the builder. The piece had a lot of work into it, as you can imagine. It is the forth he's built. The voice changer worked well! So drop that turkey leg and prepare to get exterminated with lots of hard work and time.

Owls = Harry Potter. And sideways glances...

Ravens =  Harry Potter. This raven was a sweetheart. Poor thing was hit by a car and is now missing an eye and will never fly again. But, it is well cared for and now helps educate kids on wildlife. Huzzah!

Notice the eyes

I can't remember what type of falcon this was. The kind with feathers, I think.

This is a bar-b-que sundae. This was amazing. Some of the best pulled pork I have ever had.

My face when I saw hotdogs were $8.

A young Red Tail Hawk practices for his Lady Hawk II audition. 

You could not throw a stone without hitting a bard. And I threw A LOT so I would know. These fine chaps are Three Pints Shy. They were very fun.

Ye Olde Hula Hoop seminar.

We had fun and we intend on coming back next year to catch a few things we missed due to timing. LIKE JOUSTING. WE MISSED THE #&$^ING JOUSTING!

I know...I know...

I Am the Terror That Croaks in The Night!

He offered me a Watchtower.

Meet the Eastern American Toad. A nocturnal hunter of man and beast built to survive even in the extreme conditions of space. Don't let the cute eyes and small body fool you. It's a killer of the highest order. Experts in herpetology have reported them overtaking and flipping automobiles. I barely escaped this one. I distracted it by asking if it thought the new Star Trek series Discovery was going to be any good. Toads are CRAZY about sci-fi. I slipped away while it drew a diagram of the new ship design on the ground with a stick. Risky, but worth it.

See? Terrifying.

Remember this lesson, kids: Toads are killers obsessed with sci-fi. KNOW YOUR SCI-FI! It could save your life. We're in this together and I'm here to help.

You're welcome.

Be seeing you,
Sam

Slowing It Down

I've been experimenting with slow motion video these last few months when an opportunity presents itself as a fun aside. If you haven't tried it yourself I recommend you do. It is quite fun to see moments unfold in ways you can't normally perceive. I happened today upon a very pleasing subject in the form of a Catbird. Amazing what 16 secs of video can turn into. Enjoy.

Here's a another one staring bumble bees.

Enjoy!

Be seeing you,

Sam

Predatory Remains of the Calcium Kind

Don't you hate it when the puzzle is missing pieces?

 Okay. Fess up, you guys!

Who spotted the easiest kill of the herd, stalked it, waited patiently for the right moment, attacked it from downwind, crushed the life from its throat, consumed its still warm flesh, and then left the carcass for the scavengers and insects in my back field? 

Come on, now. Who was it, you scamps! 

I'm surprised we haven't found remains like this before, given the mix of deer, coyotes, and black bear in the immediate area.

(Insert your own observations on the Circle of Life here.) 

Be seeing you,

Sam

From Bellicose to Varicose

One minute of time from the 2017 M3 Music Festival

I stood in a throng of metal fans, their heads nodding in unison agreement with the driving beat of Bango Tango. It was Saturday afternoon. The band was pounding out the middle of their set but my attention was on the stinging sunburn I scored cheap at the tailgate party the day before. It was the kind of burn that air hurts. 

Joe Lesté works the mic and the crowd.

A bobbing motion a few feet in front of me in the crowd caught my eye. Pigtails. A petit teen with auburn hair was casually bouncing to the beat. She wore a black leather miniskirt, a top that seemed mostly made of mesh, and a combination of black boots and socks. A blue tattoo peaked out from behind one sock’s edge. She seemed a bit young for the setting despite the venue’s mixed age audience. I let the moment drop to the side bringing my eyes back to the stage, but as soon as I did something nagged at me about her. I looked at her again searching for what I saw - but didn’t see the first time. 

Grey hair. 

Her auburn hair was laced with unruly silver strands that refused to conform with their neighbors. A quick glimpse of her profile showed her eyes were circled by black eyeliner that dipped into a fine web of shallow wrinkles around their edges. The spell broke like a bubble collapsing under its own weight. The “teen” was actually a middle-aged woman. My re-assessment even caught that the “ink” on her calf was varicose veins. How I could have been so completely wrong? She continued to move with the music oblivious to the perceptual whiplash she had just given me. She swayed with grace and lightness, a motion that spoke of being present in the moment without any other thought. She was surrounded by people yet completely unto herself, like a child in a world of their own creation. No, it was more. Her demeanor bore no weight of responsibility. No obligations. No burdens. She was not acting the role of a teen. She was not recapturing her past at a concert. She was simply and totally in the moment. And in that, her physical age became as meaningless as counting rain drops in a storm or trying to divine the philosophical meaning of a sunrise. She was young again from being free of the burden of meaning and the importance of importance. 

I wondered about the life she lived outside the festival but only for second. She was a good teacher. I turned again to the stage letting my body sway to the efforts of guitar and drum carrying a secret smile, hoping no one saw me stealing a glance at this girl in pigtails who obviously was too young to be here on her own. 

Rock on.