Huginn and Muninn

For some time now, I have considered myself to be a person of two minds. It definitely crystallized a lot more for me when I started studying psychology and began to understand concepts such as the sub-conscious and the nature of thoughts and feelings. But regardless of what I've studied, I think I needed to come to the conclusion myself and find the truth in my own way before I would accept the idea of it being something that is truly, concretely, factually, real.

Accepting that I am not just a person of thought, but of emotion, and that emotion comes from the same place my thought, reason and identity come from, began to pose some interesting questions as to the idea of what was my sub-conscious capable of, and how does it affect who I am as a person.

The urge to write this all began with the thought of a simple statement: We should not be slaves to our emotions- Which immediately brought forth thoughts of Borg and Vulcan and other such philosophers of our day, and the instant emotional reaction of: But that's not what I believe. To which I immediately appended: -but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have them.

It's interesting to catch myself while I'm in the midst of an emotional state - say anxiousness - and try to understand why it is that I'm feeling this way? On bio-psychological level, I agree that - in response to some stimuli - my subconscious mind kicked on some glands and hormones and secretions and a chemical reaction taking place in my brain is making me experience this state of nervous tension and anxiety. 

The point is to acknowledge not only that it's happening, not only why it's happening, but what is my sub-conscious trying to tell me? It's all well and good to be standing in front of a Lion and experience some anxiety. Your brain is making sure you know that the Lion will kill you and that - while it may not know about you - it wants to keep living.

While this practical example may seem obvious and redundant, I believe it points out an important idea: that our sub-conscious mind is as intelligent as we are (obviously) and not only has some important things to say, it can make you act ways you might not, under normal circumstances, have acted. I think it can also be an interesting tool, because you could use emotion to interview your sub-conscious and see how things might make you feel and what it means when you feel certain things about certain subjects.

(tbc)

Hollywood Movie

High School student gets a family history assignment and is searching through the records for parts of his family tree. During his search, he comes upon a picture of an ancestor of his and is puzzled when he notices that the relative looks exactly like him; at his current age.

More research reveals a series of strange exploits and activity by this ancestor that doesn't seem to make much sense. Until he realizes that he isn't just the splitting image of an old relative... the person in those pictures is him! And he's sending messages to himself through actions/interviews recorded in the past.

Somehow, he ended up in 1885 - Time Travel has not been invented or anything, society is pretty much as it is now (2012). Whatever it was that got him trapped there forced him to spend his time in the past doing what he could to warn his future self, knowing that he was going to die (eventually) in the past (or perhaps use whatever sent him into the past as a way to get back to the future [heh]). Which ends up being sooner than he knows, because more articles reveal that on Sunday, September 6th, 1885, he's shot dead by Bart "Mad Dog" Travis and his gang while traveling on the Pine City Stage.

Student has no idea how many times he's been sent back, he only knows he hasn't succeeded. Student must puzzle together the clues left by his future self to figure out how to stop the cycle and save himself from being left for dead in the Old West.

Games (Revisit)

The World
Four of Wands
Justice

Nine of Pentacles
The Empress
The Chariot (<-Interesting.)

Six of Swords
King of Cups
Seven of Swords

Two of Wands (<-Cool.)

Good.

2012 Revisit

Fresh Cut:
Queen of Pentacles + Strength

The Spread:

The Emperor
Temperance (<-Hello.)
Three of Pentacles

Ace of Pentacles
Five of Pentacles
Seven of Swords

The Lovers
Wheel of Fortune (<-Interesting.)
Six of Pentacles (<-So true.)

Queen of Swords

Heavy influence of Pentacles and Major Arcana. Queen of Swords and Seven of Swords pair up.

1up

1up

Set up an online bank account of some kind to accept donations or use an online charity/donation site. Also, find ways to get physical currency deposited as well - money gathered at fundraisers.

Find a scholarship (or make one!?) for college education that you can link up with for the donations. Find out the amount needed (or desired) to donate to effectively grant a college scholarship.

Set a threshold on the account so that when a certain amount is reached it triggers a scholarship and grants one to an approved applicant/donates it to the existing scholarship.

It'd be cool if it were called the 1up Scholarship.

Then... you know... raise some money :)

[Updated!] Mr. Panda's Chili Recipe

Mr. Panda's Chili Recipe

Based off of Chef Hatton's basic chili recipe (thanks, Gabe!)

Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
Onions (white), medium dice - 2
Garlic, chopped - 4 cloves
Ground Beef (Extra Lean) - 3 lb
Red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec) - 2 cups
Crushed tomatoes, canned - 3 lb
Diced tomatoes, canned - 3 lb
Beef stock - 1 qt
Chili Powder (Blend) - 4 tbsp
Chili Powder (California Chili) - 2 tbsp
Ground Cumin - 2 tsp
Bay leaves - 3
Worcestershire sauce - 2 tbsp
Jalapenos (green), minced - 3 [2 seeded, 1 with seeds/ribs]
Jalapenos (red), minced - 2 [1 seeded, 1 with seeds/ribs]
Mexican Hot Sauce (i.e. Tapatio, Cholula, Mexi-Pep) - 3 tbsp
Salt and Pepper - TT
[I've been doing 3 tsp sea salt and 6 tsp ground black pepper]

In a large stock pot...
1. Saute the onions in oil until tender and translucent. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
2. Add the beef and brown, stirring occasionally. Drain off excess fat. Then, add the red wine and stir until mixed with meat.
3. Add the remaining ingredients.
4. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered - stirring occasionally - until reduced to desired thickness (4-5 hours should do it.)
5. Remove bay leaves and adjust seasoning.

Makes 5 qt (1 gal 1 qt) - Serves approx. 10

Suggested Accompaniment:

"Jiffy" Brand Cornbread Muffins

WIBCI

Story:

Game Designer travels to Oxford to live while designing a RPG epic. Drinks regularly at the Eagle and Child and working on his design there - a form of "studying under the masters." (a la Louvre in France.)

After a while there, a local introduces himself to Game Designer, asking if what he's working on is D&D. "I suppose it is, in a matter of speaking." GD invites him for a drink and talks for a while - getting to know him. Local confesses that he and his friends are a group of D&D players without a DM - and they've been dying for a game. GD confesses to being rather lonely and would welcome the company of gamers and hopefully new friends.

Local introduces GD to friends, they all get to know each other. GD agrees to DM his game for them. Everyone is happy, game happens.

At least one of the gamers is a female - introduce love interest. Story follows game development/progression, friendship, love and cultural displacement. Uses location well - Oxford (for Christ sake.)

Bonus! End of movie/story/whatever follows with release of epic RPG game!

Glimpse of the Future

Ten of Swords
Eight of Cups *
The Tower

Ten of Pentacles
Judgement
Temperance *

Two of Swords
Page of Swords
Death

Five of Pentacles

Analysis:

This is arguably the culmination of all of my readings done as of late. Sort of capturing the current outlook of the future for the major paths I'm on.

The Eight of Cups is considered the "immediate influence" for my future. If we look at Reading 1, we see that as the final result to the programming question. That transition will clearly occur at some point and will be a significant influence on the final outlook on the future. I can't shake the feeling that it might be referring to something else though - something to do with the Tower maybe?

The Tower. Wow. I usually fear seeing this card in any spread, especially in the Ultimate Goal/Destiny spot (like we have here.) Though upon reflecting on it, it represents a rather intriguing option and path that I hadn't considered in this whole thing. Considering the general feeling I'm getting from these readings, The Tower not only seems like a logical outcome, but I don't necessarily consider it negative. It might actually be what saves me from (or is ultimately caused by) the Five of Pentacles.

Ten of Pents = When I lived at home. Judgement = Moving out and getting my new job. Distant past and recent events of how I got to this whole situation. Standard.

Temperance, however, is very interesting. It is seen here as a "Future Influence" (different from the Eight of Cups, more long term.) Reading 2 shows Temperance as the final result for my query into 2012. This is one of a handful of times I've ever seen the deck actually get this specific on timing. This spread acknowledges that the results of 2012 will have an influence on the final outlook on the future. Though it makes me wonder how far this reading is looking at.

Two of Swords = Current position/mindset. Page of Swords = Environment.

Death. I've seen this twice now tonight and I definitely agree that it reflects a strong portion of my inner thoughts/emotions. Not in any real morbid way (not any more than usual anyway) but more in a strong desire for change. I'm happy to see the consistency here. It should be noted as something to consider with the larger scheme.

The Five of Pentacles. Let's be honest here, after everything I've seen, the future is not looking like good times. But let's consider that all of this is representing a potential look at the future of my current path. Given the Eight of Cups and now the Five of Pentacles, it's pretty clear that attempting a future in Game Design/Programming leads to limited success and ultimately failure and abandonment.

But let's consider Temperance in this whole thing. Somehow all of this bad is going to get mixed with some kind good and it's important to note that whatever that good is, it hasn't appeared in any of the current readings (outside of Games.) This means that the good that will mix has to come from somewhere OUTSIDE my current path and maybe that's where the Tower fits in:

Something, I would venture Games related but who knows at this point, is going to be a good influence on me during this time of negative outlook. It will probably trigger the Tower or the Tower acts as the transition from this current path to a new one.

Of course, all of this is really just meant to give perspective. To speak to the subconscious and see where I'm at mentally and emotionally. I don't feel good about a lot of what I see. This could be a warning for me to either take it more seriously or just be mindful of my future choices. There are signs of hope and happiness, but it definitely looks like there are a lot of changes and more bumps in the road.

Well, when has anything ever gone smoothly?

~Goodnight~

Stick with games

The Magician
Seven of Wands
Ace of Cups (<-yay!)

Ten of Wands
Judgement
Six of Wands

Knight of Wands
Two of Pentacles (<-so true...)
Six of Pentacles

The Sun (<-awesome.)

Despite it all, I guess in the end, I'm still gonna stick with Games as the main goal. If it leads to The Sun, I'm totally okay with that.

2012

Queen of Cups
Ace of Swords
Three of Pentacles

Six of Swords
King of Pentacles
Seven of Swords

Seven of Cups
Four of Swords (<-*sigh*)
The Hierophant

Temperance

If it weren't for the Ace of Swords and Temperance, I would say this was a bad sign. Still, heavy influences from the the current plan (seen in previous reading) appear throughout this reading:

The Three of Pentacles, Seven of Swords and Hierophant are all directly referring to it.
Six of Swords led me there. Being the King of Pentacles put me in the right mind set for it.

The Four of Swords represents my effect on others or others' effect on me in this spread, baring in mind that the question was referring to future events. Considering that the Four of Swords was shown as a Future Influence in my previous reading, this is clearly where it fits into the larger scheme of things.

Temperance sounds all well and good (all things considered), I just don't know if/how the Eight of Cups fits into that.

*picard* *sigh*

Further Analysis:

The spread makes a lot more sense once you include Reading 3 (see above.) Temperance is really explained here as the resolution between the Eight of Cups and The Sun. It essentially boils down to: I will probably end up abandoning my current specific plan, but, regardless, if I stick with games, it will end up in success.

The concern here is that now that I'm aware of the possibility of Reading 1, what does that mean toward my attitude in following through with it? There were positive signs (namely success) in there that are the result of doing the thing (see Ace of Swords, Seven of Swords, Three of Pentacles, The Emperor) and if it's related to Games then it still has to contribute toward The Sun somehow.

If anything it means I may just end up abandoning the current path, but still staying on the overall goal, to my ultimate Ace of Cups + The Sun, which is really sweet.

Resolution? Stick with the plan.

Noted and acknowledged.

Shit.

King of Cups
Seven of Pentacles
Ten of Wands

Ten of Swords
The High Priestess
Four of Swords (<-Watch out for this!)

The Hanged Man
The Emperor
Knight of Pentacles

Eight of Cups (<-Shit.)

Is it worth the Four of Swords just to end up with the Eight of Cups? Is it worth honestly reconsidering a life goal purely because of a reading?

Isn't the point to gain perspective, though? Maybe the point was to just get me to think about it.

Shit.

Dread Bach (!) - Track List

1st group of tracks for consideration as Game soundtrack:

• "Sleepers, Awake!" Cantata, BWV 140
• Bouree in E Minor (Tag: Resting/Camp)
  
• Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G
  
• Cello Suite No. 1 - Prelude (Tag: Intro)
• Fugue (Tag: Outro)
  
• Jesu, Joy of Man's Dreaming (Tag: Ending Sequence/Credits/Recap FMV)
  
• Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor "Badinerie" (Tag: Forest - Daytime)
• Toccata in D Minor (Tag: Inner Sanctum/Boss Intro)
• Partita No.3 in E Major for Solo Violin, I. Prelude (or Prelude in E Major)
• Prelude No. 1 (from 'Well-Tempered Clavier') (Tag: Menu Screen/Start Screen/Pre-game)
  

Dread Bach (!) - Intro + Track

Intro to Game

Track 1: Cello Suite no. 1 - Prelude

Soft character control while credits roll on screen with simple action in the background.

Thought: Ocean/coast, character is arriving at a port. Action coincides with music in the form of character running on ropes/ships and through the port.

Hmm...

Who is the Queen of Wands? Who is the King of Wands? Beware the Fool.

Future - The Spread:

Four of Cups
Two of Cups
The Fool
Nine of Cups
Queen of Wands
King of Wands
The Devil
Six of Cups
The High Priestess
Knight of Wands [so true!]

Note from the Future

All in all, things look pretty positive. Be mindful of the Four of Pentacles.

Work - The Spread:

Death
Two of Cups
Ace of Swords
Seven of Cups
Six of Pentacles
Four of Pentacles
The Hanged Man
Six of Cups
The Emperor
Wheel of Fortune

Also, be wary of The Moon.

Home - The Spread:

Page of Wands
Queen of Cups
Page of Pentacles
Six of Swords
Ten of Wands
The Moon
Four of Wands
Nine of Swords
Temperance
Ace of Swords

Mr. Panda's Chili Recipe

Based off of Chef Hatton's basic chili recipe (thanks Gabe.)

Onions, medium dice - 2
Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic, chopped - 4 cloves
Ground Beef - 3 lb
Crushed tomatoes, canned - 3 lb
Diced tomatoes - 3 lb
Beef stock - 1 qt
Chili powder - 4 tbsp
Cumin - 2 tsp
Bay leaves - 2
Worcestershire sauce - 2 tbsp
Jalapenos, minced - 4
Cholula - 3 tbsp
Red wine (flavor matters) - 2 cups
Salt and Pepper - TT (recommend 1:3 ratio)

1. Saute the onions in oil until tender and translucent. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
2. Add the beef and brown, stirring occasionally. Drain off excess fat. Add the red wine.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered until reduced to desired thickness (3-4 hours should do it.)
4. Remove bay leaves and adjust seasoning.

Makes 5 qt (1 gal 1 qt)

Suggested Accompaniment:

"Jiffy" Brand Cornbread Muffins

Genesis 6:7... what?

From King James:

"And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them."

Wow... I'm always amazed when I'm reminded how brutal a God we have in the Bible. We must have fucked up something terrible for an ever-loving omnipotent Eternal to regret its own creation.

Harsh.

The New World [!]

There is a bacteria... a very special kind of bacteria.

This bacteria can be found off the coast of many nations across the world.

It has only recently evolved and has a very unique diet.

It eats Oil.

There is a group. They have a vision.

A vision, of a New World.

A World free of the dependency on oil; of a fuel that destroys the planet and holds nations hostage to its limited supply.

The current rate of consumption, it would still be years before the supply ran out. It would be too late.

They had a plan: Hyperevolve the Oil-Eating Bacteria and use it to destroy the worlds accessible crude oil supply. Force the world into developing alternative energy sources. The world built on oil would crumble into the past and a New World would arrive. The dawn of a new era.

What they needed was a way to give the bacteria access to immense quantities of oil and force the bacteria to evolve.

So they found the easiest way to get a lot of crude... They got into the oil business.

They worked their way into corporations...

And they caused an oil spill.

And they made sure, that it was a big one.

For the good of the World.

[NTS] Twist with the Tower

Make the tower have variable stages. Ones that are changed by the climber.

Make those changes permanent for the run of the climb.

When the PC completes the tower, they are crowned champion.

They are the Tower Champion until a new climber comes to take on the tower.

(New Game+: Allow PC to climb same tower only now the story changes to account for them being the Champion?)

New Game++ Style: New PC is a climber attempting to climb the tower of the current Tower Champion (former character.)

Tower setup is based on the previous PCs run.

Find a way to get users to be able to enter any players User Name to run their tower.

Note To Self

Modify OGL rules.
Incorporate early 90's square-style RPG elements.
Create basic custom RPG rules set.

Mine brain for crazy ideas.
Run the game for player(s).