Old Man & Skinny Guy: Gaming Talk for Everyone

The Old Man takes a few minutes to talk about how he feels about what's happening in the world today and how it affect our community. Remember to love and support each other and don't dream it, be it.

Being intermediate as we are, we relish the fact that we are surrounded by such creative and talented people. The folks of Lost Colonies LARP are no exception to this. You'll hear them discuss their gaming history as well as their motivations to create a game that cross a number of genres and still has the flair of live action role playing that a lot of LARPers enjoy! Not only that but they are some of the most creative and open people you're ever going to meet! We encourage you to not only listen to this epsiode for their awesomeness but to learn more and eventually get your @$$ to Lost Colonies LARP!   Their Grand Opening Even will be: Grand Opening Event October 12, 2018 Prince William Forest Park - Camp 5 17425 Mawavi Rd. Triangle, VA 22172 More information and tickets can be found at https://lostcolonieslarp.com/events/index.html

In Episode 28, we interviewed two amazing folks from the folk pagan band, Kindred Crow. They shared two amazing songs with us, Shifter and The Green Door. We wanted to make sure that everyone got a chance to hear their wonderful sound. If you'd like to get to know these folks and how they are an integral part of our community, we recommend you listen to Episode 28. If you just want to hear some of their music, take a listen to this bonus track. Their album came out not too long ago. Support them by downloading their music today at kindredcrow.com . And if you're local to the Virginia/Maryland/Metro DC area, you can also learn where to see them live!  Again, we wouldn't have learned anything about these amazing folks without the help of Lost Colonies LARP!

In a follow up to our Cultural Appropriation episode of Old Man Yells at the Sky, our friends at Inside 254 podcast have shared with us some amazing content!   To refresh your memory, our guest for that show was Dr. Amanda Morris. She visited New Mexico recently and sat with Dr. Lee Francis IV (Laguna Pueblo), self-described indiginerd poet, educator, activist, comic creator and owner of Native Realities Press, co-owner of Red Planet Books & Comics, and founder of Indigenous ComicCon.   He discusses the need and steps taken to help decolonize pop culture and make the voices of indigenous writers, artists and others equally heard within our culture.   Thank you to Dr. Morris for allowing us to share this interview with you and Dr. Francis for the work he's done so far and sharing it with all of us.   Indigenous ComicCon Info: November 2 - 4, 2018 Isleta Resort and Casino Albuquerque, NM https://www.indigenouscomiccon.com/

We're always constantly amazed at the caliber of people that actually say, "Sure, I'll talk to you intermediate guys!." This interview is no exception. Maury Brown is the creator of the Wizarding College LARP: New World Magischola as well as Learn LARP. The amount of work and creativity to put all this together and be an educator blows our mind but somehow she does it and discuss how during our sit down!   Once more, thanks to Lost Colonies LARP for orchestrating the group of amazing folks to sit with us!   You can find all of the things we discussed here: New World Magischola: https://magischola.com/ Learn LARP: https://learnlarp.com/ And if you like the Wizarding College, maybe you may enjoy Wizard Jail? They may be sold out for this year but check it out anyway: Inside Avernus: https://magischola.com/inside-avernus/run-1/

Our second interview from MicroCon is with two amazing folks from the pagan folk band Kindred Crow; Irene Glasse and Chris Kackley. They talk about their musical history and how they came to be involved in the gaming community. Specifically how they came to be involved with and are doing special projects with Lost Colonies LARP.   And as very special musical guests, they graced us with some of their songs! They are amazing folks with incredible talent! You can find their new EP "The Mugwort Incident" and all of their dates and content on www.kindredcrow.com   Once you hear their music, it's a pretty good bet you'll want to hear more from them.   Link from Intro: World Anvil World Building for Game Masters: www.worldanvil.com

So as some of you may have noticed, there was no episode last week. There have been some changes, some not so great but others pretty damn good, going on behind the scenes.  Old Man breaks down those changes and what to expect for the coming year!

Our good friends from Lost Colonies LARP hosted us in June for what became known as MicroCon! We met a slew of amazing people and they even talked to us!   One of those amazing individuals was Mike Young. Mike has written, created and published gaming materials in many forms over many years! There's a good chance you've played a game that Mike has had some part of creating or publishing as we found out while we chatted!   He discusses his past creations and some of his more recent work with us! This is the first part of the MicroCon series we will be putting out over the next few weeks!   You can find more info about Mike Young at the following places: Mike Young, Insane Game Designer: http://www.interactivitiesink.com/  Mike Young, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Young_(game_designer)  The Book of LARP : https://www.amazon.com/Book-LARP-Live-Action-Playing/dp/097083568X  A Grandiose Disaster : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ndpaoletta/a-grandiose-disaster  Compendium of North American Cryptids & Magical Creatures: https://www.amazon.com/Compendium-American-Cryptids-Magical-Creatures/dp/1945097000 

Old Man wants your help in celebrating our anniversary! Take a listen to find out how you can be part of our celebration!

I know we said we are on hiatus and we were. But Skinny Gal, Shannon Fidler of Episode 2, and I wound up at Saikoucon in Allentown,PA this past weekend and got an amazing opportunity to interview Jake and Gigi Edgley! They also perform a song for us!   This wonderful sibling duo is on the road with their Wanderland Tour! They spoke with us about how the tour came to be, the fans that made it possible, all the places they'll be playing and where you can catch those shows!   Jake is an amazing musician who has been on the Voice and X Factor Australia. Gigi is probably most known for her work as Chiana on Farscape and as the host of Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge!   The reason this show is dropping on for everyone on a Monday is because they're next show is this Saturday in NY and we want to support them! August 4th: 10pm Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 3 196 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002 ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL TICKETS:   The Wanderland Tour: https://www.wanderland.love/ Gigi Edgley: http://www.gigiedgley.com/ Jake Edgley: https://www.jakeedgley.com   Please see them when they get to your area! They are amazing!

So if you're looking for Old Man to talk about the positive aspects of supporting your local gaming stores, then we have filled that oddly specific need. In fact, its probably a little scary how much he addressed all the questions you were just asking yourself. It's almost as if he was reading your mind and not looking in your living room window though binoculars.   By the way, your new couch is nice.   Game Store Links in the Lehigh Valley, PA Area: The Portal Comics and Gaming : http://theportalcomicsandgaming.com Steel City Comics and Games : https://www.facebook.com/steelcitycomicsandgames Encounter Comics & Games: https://www.facebook.com/EncounterComics/ JAF Comics: http://jafcomics.com/ The Game Gallery : https://www.facebook.com/TheGameGallery Warhammer Allentown: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Warhammer-Allentown?_requestid=1230763

Are you looking for a live action role play (LARP) game that's unique, fun and puts you in the American west? If the answer is yes, then you need to hear the creator of Dead Legends talk about that very game he created!  If the answer is no, then you already play Dead Legends, know Zach and should be listening anyway because you know how awesome the game is! Zach discusses his inspirations and passions for Dead Legends along with his amazing team and players. He also discusses his passions as a player; not just a creator; in the game Mutvia and some of the other games that excite him! Additionally, he talks exclusively with us about another creation of his, Dammerung, which he hopes to have released to the public by the end of this year! Other Links Level up Dice: www.levelupdice.net  Double Exposure, Inc: https://dexposure.com/ 

With the holiday weekend upon us, many folks want to do more than just blow things up to celebrate the independence of this country. Double Exposure offers that to you with Dexcon 21! This is your amusement theme park of gaming and fun! If you're in or can get to Morristown NJ and looking for fun, there isn't any reason to not go! In this bonus track, find out more details on how to be part of the Dexcon fun! Also, we will be recording live with some amazing guests on Saturday! We also give you some details on who we're interviewing in this bonus track! You really should go. Links: Dexcon 21: https://www.dexposure.com/dexcon21.html New World Magischola:  https://magischola.com/  Learn LARP: https://learnlarp.com/ Dead Legends: https://www.deadlegendslarp.com/   

Your heroes take an opportunity to sit down with a gamer with abilities some would call "extra ordinary". He has no plans of creating his own games however. All he wants to do is play them for all their worth and challenge himself. In this interview, we get the perspective of a player that loves to play games yet doesn't have a podcast of his own and therefore needs our help to spread his message of hope and love of games. "Wally" as he is known to his friends, and now the rest of the internet, shares the ups and downs of his gaming career, mostly through the medium of card games. Sit back with a beer, "clink clink", and enjoy! Important Links: Dexcon 21: https://www.dexposure.com/dexcon21.html Post Pandemic LARP (Lancaster, PA)  Lost Colonies LARP (Sterling, VA): https://lostcolonieslarp.com/  https://www.facebook.com/lostcolonieslarp/  https://www.patreon.com/lostcolonieslarp 

n the vein of our unusable episodes, we were able to save some parts of an interview with Kate Beaman Martinez where we discuss our one an only listener (at the time) Kevin.  Kevin is actually the founder and editor of Raging Chicken Press and it's podcast Out d'Coup and a great friend to our show. From the website, " Raging Chicken Press, based in Kutztown, PA, is a left/progressive media site devoted to covering and helping build on-the-ground activism and communities of resistance. " We also talk about the LARP coordinator for Double Exposure, Inc, Mike Malecki and the great work he does especially with the Battlestar Galactica LARP that went on 2 years ago. Also, our friends at Lost Colonies LARP will be having a playtest and photo shoot this weekend! You can find the info on their Facebook page or by clicking here.

As with all podcasting,we tried to find our voice early on. What kind of format will we have? What topics should we discuss? How heavily should we drink? In this excerpt of an unreleased episode, you will hear none of those questions answered in anyway whatsoever.  We do discuss Star Wars but not in any significant or meaningful way nor do we link it to gaming, You will probably hear very quickly why we never released the full episode. Even with all that said, it does have some entertaining qualities that you may enjoy. Old Man still gets a chuckle when he listens to it!

On our latest segment of Old man Yells at the Sky, we talk at length about the issue of cultural appropriation in games; specifically tabletop, video and live action role play (LARP). We reached out to a number of communities on social media to get their take on this important issue.   We also talked with Dr. Amanda Morris who is an associate professor of writing and rhetoric at Kutztown University and a scholar of contemporary Indigenous rhetorics. She currently serves as chapter president for the faculty union, APSCUF, and co-hosts and produces the Inside 254 Podcast. She talks with us very specifically about Native American cultural appropriation.   It's a tough topic but one we all need to discuss. Did we forget something? Should we expand on another type of game? Let us know what you think at oldmanskinnyguy@gmail.com or on our Facebook group page: Old Man & Skinny Guy: The Group Thing!   Important Links discussed in the show: The Problem with Drow from KnightErrantJR's Games and Geekdom Blog Cosplaying Drow from the Black Role Players Organiziation Why is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc? The Dark Face of Racism Examined in Tolkien's World - Project Muse Elizabeth LaPensée - Native American game designer, writer, artist, and researcher Video Games Encourage Indigenous Cultural Expression by Indian Country Today Destroy Oil Pipelines as a Thunderbird in this New Video Game Definition of Cultural Appropriation (Wikipedia) Definition of Cultural Appropriation (Oxford Dictionary)  

If the episode art is any indication, taking those thermal detonator safety classes was well worth the money! We sat down with Gia Grillo and Sean Jaffe and they talked all nerdy with us!   Sean tells us how he got into tabletop and larping and how both types of games inspired him to not only become a better storyteller but to create the games he wanted to see in the world! He is not only one of the creators of Nerdy City (and their Facebook), but also of the game Ex-Arcana and the Chronos System.   Then both Gia and Sean tells us all about their latest endeavor, the tabletop Rememorex! Linked to Rememorex is the successful kickstarter which details much of the game. It is a game very much inspired by the 80's and the nostalgia of the times.   It's a lot of awesome packed into a tiny package! Give it a listen. We promise you won't be disappointed.   This the link to the opener of the video Sean mentions during the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoH7YPICH7o   Here is a link to Gia's tumblr: https://bespinlukeadventures.tumblr.com

Another sneak preview of next week's episode! Our guests (multiple for next episode!) are Gia Grillo and Sean Jaffe. Their sound check was so hilarious there wasn't any doubt that we would share it with all of you. These amazingly entertaining folks who love to tell stories and entertain others give you a sample of the great interview they gave with us! Enjoy!  

How does one go from mild mannered to full on mega creator of awesomeness? We find out from our latest guest, Megan Dawson Jaffe. And the only thing false about the stated question was the mild mannered part.   Megan talks with us about her beginnings that have led her to the path she is currently on. She shares with us some of the games she has helped to develop like Ex-Arcana and the Pacific Rim LARP. She discusses the company she is co-owner of Nerdy City that helps facilitate much of the games she works on.   She also mentions how costume businesses such as Manhattan Wardrobe Supply are beginning to do more with the cosplay community! You can find her on Facebook or if you need some costume inspiration, you can look through her Pinterest!   If you ever wanted the skinny, down low on costuming, this is the episode you've been waiting for!