The Future (Minus 1 Delorian)

   Not sure exactly what the optimal use for a blog is, but if the average person online has taught me anything, it's about ranting and tossing what you love on the front page of the internet with reckless abandon.  And who would I be to be different? 
   I will be doing what are called battle reports for the Warmachine game I play, as well as maybe tossing random pictures of some of the figures I have gotten done, but that's about all I can think of for now.  Stay tuned as there may be a rant thrown in here or two.

   Thanks,

   Michial

...Tiny Men (part 3)

   Okay, so as far as I can tell from reading my past entries, I am not a nerd, not a painter, and apparently, not totally tolerant of others.  So what does that make me?  I believe it makes me simply...the guy. 
   You all know the guy...He doesn't speak out all that much, knows just about everyone, and no one ever questions why he is randomly somewhere you are.  Some people are called social butterflies, I like to think of myself as a social something 10x cooler than a butterfly.  If someone needs help I'm there, if someone can't figure something out I'm a text away.  I love my friends, but sometimes they get me in the oddest situations...
   This miniature game I play is called Warmachine with it's compatriot game called Hordes.  Through the course of playing we, in our town, are on our second game store and I stepped up to be what is called a press-ganger.  That pretty much means that I run demonstration games, organize and run tournaments and generally turn my head into a rules database for other players.  I do it because I love the game, love my fellow gamers, and am apparently a few bricks short of a chimney.
   This game is great for anyone to play that enjoys steampunk, fantasy, giant robots and beasts running ramshod across a battlefield of soldiers, artillery, and magic wielding warcasters and warlocks.  It is fun to assemble the models however you'd like, great to paint them to your specifications, and even moe fun once the real game begins.  Our local game store has a good stock of models to choose from and the owners are awesome as well!
   Back to me...lol...Between working 40+ hours a week, working out to get less fat, being a full-time student (elementary education), and being a husband to the greatest girl in the world, everything else just kinda gets lumped into the "when I can get to it" category.  I run fast and constant because I love being the guy, and being the guy just kinda suits me.
   If you are in the Hutchinson, Kansas area, swing by MidKnight games (27 E 30th Ave Suite C, Hutchinson, KS 67502) and say hi, perhaps I can show you just why this game is my new favorite obsession

With love and just a bit of air-humping,

Michial

Little Toys...Part 2

   I am not an artist, I'll be the first to admit it.  I hear free-thinkers and abstract hippy-types talk and I want to start shoving my fists in glass so i can go all "Blood Sport" on them.I don't know what it is, but there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of natural creativity in me and I tend to see the world for what it is:  a series of set designs and uneditable truths.  These facts keep me cozy at night as I find that order gives a man more structure than the plans of any unending staircase.
   But I paint.  Not in the classic sense of setting up an easel and channeling my inner Bob Ross, but I do paint.  Instead of feet by feet of workspace, I have literally inches and millimeters of work area co complete my product; brushes with heads smaller than q-tips to transfer my limited inspiration to fruition.  This takes time, and for the most part it is a labor of love.  There is something very awesome about seeing a fully painted army fielded on the table; no squinting at the black primer and having to distract yourself for a split second to remember what model it is that you are looking at.  When some of these models are literally half the size of your thumb, the aire of tedium collects quickly (especially with units of men that share the same basic uniform), but when they are finished, you lean back, groan with how bad your lower back feels, and marvel at the fact that you spent 8 straight hours in paint mode.
   Painting is not an option for me.  I paint my own models, I paint others models, hell - I have a model less than a foot away from me that is in mid-stasis in the painting process.  I do not consider myself an artist, that would turn me into someone that I wouldn't understand...I'm just a dude with a brush...

Awww, You're Just Playing With Little Toys...Part 1

   In typical me fashion, I begin writing this entry with less that recommended sleep and absolutely no focus other than a small glimpse of topical destination.  This series (with however many parts I do it in) will cover judging others, preconceived notions, the game I love (Warmachine/Hordes), and whatever else I choose to add into it.
   Whenever I tell people that I play a tabletop miniature games, I expect a certain amount of eye glazing and an overwhelming sense of they are better than me in some way because instead of doing something that is artistic, intensive, and mentally expansive, they sit on their ass and watch "The Biggest Loser", so of course they must be better than me.  I am apparently wasting my money, they are simply wasting my air.  I get the "So they are like army men?" or "Is it like a model car?" and to answer both questions...sorta-ish...  You assemble the soldiers and units from pieces so they are like a model car, and they are mostly men (of varying races) and machines/guns/animals so the army men analogy is vaguely accurate. 
   What they don't understand is that past simple aesthetics, they game is much more than pretty models painted up and set out on a big table.  Since beginning this game, I have learned basic military tactics just like every general in history, How to do quick math and retain detailed information concerning models to move the game along faster, and the most important I've learned is how to be courteous and gracious - be it win, lose, or me getting rolled like a bum in an alley.  This way of coping with things is invaluable in life as disappointment and loss are inevitable, but overcoming them with grace is an amazing feat that even High Exemplar Kreoss cannot match.
   If the world can look down on me and other gamers for "being adults that play silly games" than I propose this:  Every time I hear these people say they sat at home and simply disconnected from reality for hours on end, remind them they are no better than any gamer.  A gamer can "disconnect" with a purpose, with an semblance of progress, and most importantly...with other people...

Until I ramble on at you again,

Michial

The Battle of the Bulge

   Okay, so I'm fat...I get it now.  Since about the age of, oh 8, I have been the chunky kid.  As a fatty, growing up meant "husky" size jeans, sweat pants, and general awkwardness to boot, but the worst part was my seemingly unlimited will to not do anything about it.  Well, no more...As I stood on the scale in January, I was almost sickened to see 295 lbs.  That isn't healthy, that isn't even remotely good for anyone (especially when they are 5'9").
   This prompted a few changes; first, for the last few months I have eaten a pescatarian diet (look it up on wikipedia, because i don't care to write it out) and second, I have began the crap-tastic journey towards working out.  between the two I recently got down to a so-so 270, but no where near my goal weight, so now I have added a gym membership to boost the cardio and hopefully burn off this chunk that has been with me all these years.
   The process is slow-going, and not at all enjoyable, but if it will keep me going past 50, then by all means...and making something this sexy even sexier, while not fair to you ladies, is gonna be supah-shweet!

Umm hello...Is this thing on?

Hey kids,
   I figured that since this is an age of technology and personal advancement, the best (and most pretentious) thing i could do was to make a blog.  Yes, I know, all of the people of the world in my mind will now be holding hands, sharing coca-cola, and generally having a field day of this, but if it can help to vent steam, educate the ignorant, or even prompt others to start writing themselves, I believe I have done my job.
   A little about myself; I am a fatty, I smoke, I drink, I am obnoxious and mildly offensive...If these things are enough to make you hit the back button, them good on ya.  I have been married since 2007 to an amazingly tolerant woman, and am currently going to school for elementary education.  More about me later, but for now this should do.
   This is but a taste, a nibbling of the deliciousness that is me...further courses to come...stay thirsty my readers...