In Which I Wax Eloquent (or not-so-eloquent) About RPGs

Roleplaying games, also known as RPGs, have attained a reputation as one of the nerdiest passtimes in which one can engage. As such, I have enjoyed them for many years, and expect to enjoy them for many more. But I have to take issue with the way they have been categorized — not because I don’t think they are nerdy (they clearly are), but because they are so much more than that, and slapping the “nerdy” moniker on them and moving on does not do them justice. Not by a long shot. Whether you play DnD, GURPS, Pathfinder, Fate, or any of the other myriad systems out there, you have probably experienced some or all of the things I’m going to talk about. And if you have never played an RPG, I’m going to tell you some of the great things you are missing, and maybe you will want to try one out.

Why I’m Glad LeFou is Gay

I’m a little late to the party, but let’s talk about Beauty and the Beast. A few weeks ago, Disney revealed that the character of LeFou, Gaston’s sidekick, would be gay in their live action version of the classic animated film. This prompted an enormous backlash from evangelical circles, with many calling for all good Christians to boycott the new film. I’ve seen plenty of arguments on both sides of the debate, from people who feel betrayed by Disney, and from people who argue that having a gay character in the film is no more or less objectionable than violence, language, or any other sinful activity. I’m going to take a side here, and it’s one that I haven’t heard from any other Christian sources, but I think it’s an important one to consider. I’m not just neutral on the matter, I am glad that LeFou is gay, and I think other Christians should be too.

A Capitol Trip

This gallery contains 32 photos.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently went to Montgomery, Alabama for an academic conference (SEASECS 2017 for those who are interested). While I was there, I got to play tourist for a little while, so I thought I would share my photos with you as a way of describing the trip. Montgomery […]

March Miscellany (Catching up)

Did it seem like February just flew by to anyone else? And here we are, already a week into March! Faithful readers will remember that I asked you all for input back in January about which creative project I should work on next. Don’t worry, I have not fogotten about it, and I will fill you in on the results of that poll below. What I’ve decided to do for this post is a rapid-fire recap of what I’ve been up to and a look ahead to what I’ll be working on in the weeks and months to come. If that sounds good to you, then let’s get to it! (If that doesn’t sound good to you, too bad, I’m gonna do it anyway.)