I have now GM’d two sessions of the Alien RPG. I’m running Chariot of the Gods from the Starter Set, the first published cinematic scenario for the game. Will probably finish it next session. It’s been fun, but hard to get my head around the system and genre. Players say they are enjoying themselves, so I guess I did alright, but I’m already looking forward to running the same scenario for a different group because of all the things I want to improve.
Maybe it’s time to quote some stanzas from a poem that I generated from Twitter’s Terms of Service:
you have a Privacy
and a public profile
you must provide us
illegal goods or services
you install another application
and other account features
you are an advertiser
access or search the Services
you may be exposed
and Change of Ownership
you do choose to
your use of the Services
You can choose to
and any other appropriate
you with certain communications
or Content on the Services
CW: Food
Being a junk food vegan has never been easier, and I love it! Had a double McVegan for dinner, and have cheesy snacks (vegan version of this Swedish classic premiered last week!) and salty caramel non-dairy milk chocolate for weekend snacks.
You don’t have to live on just salad to be vegan!
Recently found that Bad Bad Hats have done a series of themed livestreams during covid times, with a mix of covers and stripped down versions of their original songs.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfIjpcxmKjvJsI1MZZcY8KVV1MD94FDUv
So many good performances! Will probably end up downloading and splitting many of these into MP3s. Niche stuff like this is part of why I've been meaning to set up Ampache for quite a while now - maybe this will be the one that finally makes me get around to it.
Got dose 2 of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday. A bit of a temperature, feeling achy and sluggish, but nowhere near as bad as first dose. So a happy surprise there. I’ve been hoping to be well enough to work tomorrow, and I think I’ll able to.
Science can be pretty cool. I’m definitely more of a transhumanist now than before the vaccines, heh.
Bad Bad Hats - Midway
Bad Bad Hats have some incredibly catchy tunes, this included. The arrangement And production is spot on too, love those claps and the guitar tones. And Kerry Alexander has a very unique voice too, in a good way. Would recommend checking out their albums Psychic Reader and Lightning Round.
Tides From Nebula - Only With Presence
Always found this band name a little goofy, reminds me of like an anime title or something. Absolute classic of a song though! Songwriting like this is something I look up to, that post-rock and pop combination, very catchy. Something I often try and fail at with my own music. Great use of effects as well, just a solid track. I haven’t listened to their later albums all that much, anything good on there?
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Sleep
I suppose GYBE don’t really need an introduction, do they? This was one of those tracks that just blew my mind and pulled me down the post-rock rabbit hole, big time. It’s just so BIG and so SAD and majestic and simply an amazing piece of music. If you’ve somehow missed this, give it a listen why don’t you?
Covenant - I Scan the Surface
In my early-to-mid teens I was very into synth pop and some related genres, and Covenant was probably my very favorite band for a while. I kind of grew out of it (still love me some bubbly analogue synths and good pop melodies though) and haven’t really kept up with their post-Skyshaper output. Discovered this gem late, and just find it very cool - the atmosphere, the mystique, the very Covenant-y sound palette.
She also recorded a cover of Obstacles, originally by Syd Matters, from the Life is Strange soundtrack. If you have played the game and isn’t moved by the original, you might be missing a heart. (And if you haven’t played it, you should - it’s not without its flaws, but very charming.) Very meta to hear it sung by the voice of Max!
Hannah Telle - Hollow Glow
Hannah Telle is most known as the voice of Max Caulfield, protagonist of indie darling video game Life is Strange. Her music is criminally underrated though, she has a great voice and some lovely songs. Beautiful, melancholy, enchanting, other descriptors of that nature. Also lyrics that I think many will find relatable - despite not ever really having tried to “make it”, I certainly know that “Was this all?” feeling.
They also played a cool version of Capacity first in their NPR Tiny Desk set - great contrast between the rawness of being performed live and stripped down, and the polish and flourish of the strings.
Charly Bliss - Capacity
Excellent song from an excellent album (2019's Young Enough). Buzzy synths, unique vocal style, catchy. Not that much more to say really, just excellent pop.
Clipping - Story 2
Great storytelling, really cool time signature changes, rapping as if the shifting signatures was the most normal thing in the world, even a fitting video. Gotta love it!
Recently changed career to working with tech support (web hosting related). Also interested in sys admin stuff, started snacka.org in part for learning about that. Enjoy making music (mainly instrumental post-rock-ish), reading sci fi and about lefty politics, and am a long-time vegan. Posts mostly in English, sometimes Swedish. he/him