Registration Please

 It's midterms year.  
Things have moved forward largely as predicted.  
Gerrymandering is in full swing, a public health crisis was politicized, wars rage, and nature does as it will.  

Voting this year will be more difficult in previous years.  
Those that would have voting suppressed  have done, and continue to do, everything in their power to stack things further into their favor.  

So what can we do.  
We can Bar-b-q. 
We can roast.
We can sing
We can dance. 

Here's the plan.  
We get voter turn out to rival that of the 2020 election.  
How?  
See above. 

Here's the thing, and my challenge to politicians that really want a reminder, and to set an example, as to what it means to hold a public office. 
To be a public servant.  

You pass out water. 

On voting days, when the polls are open, at the voting locations.  You set up a little table, maybe a tent, handful of chairs.  Hell, I'll loan at least one of you both just to see it done.  
And if someone raises their hand you bring them a bottle of water.  
No signs, no buttons or pins, no slogans, no handshaking, no speeches.  
Just take them a bottle of water then go back to your seat.  
And at the end of the day, you stay, help clean up the garbage.  
Then you pack up and head home.  
Simple as that.  

Because if there is no more literal metaphor as to what it means to be a politician it's that right there. 
The people don't vote politicians in so a politician can tell them what to do, they don't vote politicians in to makes themselves rich.  
They vote politicians in so that when they turn the faucet on they know there will be water coming out of it.  They vote politicians in so that when they flip the light switch the lights come on.  So that when the storms come there is an ambulance or a fire truck that will show up to help.  
People vote politicians in so that they know that what they are paying for...
What they are paying taxes for. 
What they are providing their personal information for.
What they are providing their time and energy for.
Will help them have a home to go to, or a drink of water when they need it.  


So to everyone out there.  
Now is the time to start getting the cook outs organized.
Quietly ask the politicians and political parties how much and/or what they want to donate to put them together. 

'cause here's the cook out. 
After someone has voted, and they show up with their little "I voted" sticker, or equivalent.   
You give them a plate and turn them loose on whatever is there. 
Play music, dance, have a good ass time. 
Get everyone to request the day off.  
Let's get this turned into a proper holiday.
And if they bring the kids, ask the kids, "Why would you vote?"  and, no matter their answer, give them a "I will vote" sticker.  Because there are no wrong answers about voting. 
When the day is done, you pack up the leftovers and you take them to the shelters, you pass them out to the refugees and the immigrants.  The people that couldn't take the day off. 
Then, after the polls are closed and all of the votes are counted, you or the political parties, politicians,....whoever...helped fund the cookouts can reveal all or none of it.  

Because here's the lesson in all of it. 
Voting. 
Is.
Work.
You have to do  your homework on the issues.  Who's running for what offices.  What that office is.  You have to make a decision then you have to file the paper work on it.  
You have to plan ahead, register...all of it is work. 
And if you can't put in a days work and earn some water, and a meal, some entertainment and have a little left over...what's the point of working?  

And for the politicians and elected officials, the lesson is fairly simple as well. 
You, work for the people.  
Not the other way around.
That's the whole concept of the Republic.
The entire idea behind Democracy. 

Stay safe. 
And now is the time, when the taxes are being filed, and the results of the previous elections fully seen should people start registering and putting together their voting plan.  
Time to start picking places for the Cook Out.

Project : Overload

 When I used to run tabletop games there was a pretty firm rule that I followed. 
"For every hour of play time scheduled have about four hours of prep time ahead of time."
This came from knowing that players almost never followed the adventure, and if they did detours were inevitable.  How did the prep work go down...kinda like this. 

1st hour,
Focus on where the characters are.
What are they doing?  Who are they observing?  Who is observing them?  Do they have any goals for their current location?  What are some normal things going on?  What are two odd things goin on?  

2nd Hour
Where are the characters going? 
Make or get a map. 
If it's a homebrew you'll need to make one if it's an established world you can probably find one. Then look at the four cardinal directions from the characters locations and figure out what's going on in each of those directions. 
For example :
There's another town to the east, a Mountain range to the west, a coast for an inland sea to the North and a dense forest to the south.

3rd Hour
Why are the characters going there
 Judging from last session they'd be heading to the coast line to find a boat to get across the sea because "Plot" 
Ahhh, but one of the odd things in town was that a farmers Wife went missing in the woods a day before the characters arrived in town. 
A Caravan has stopped outside of town and is trying to hire protection from bandits on the road to the east. 
Rumor has it that there is a hidden Valley in the mountains where a witch lives.

4th hour 
Fill in the details. 
How far is it between the starting point and the possible destinations.
Where and what kind of boat will they find? Or is it a port they'll be arriving at where they can hire a ship. 
What happened to the farmers wife?  What clues where left behind?
Is it a good witch or a bad witch?  What does the witch have to offer the characters when they arrive?
Who are the bandits and why do they bandit?  Where is their hideout? Is their a reward?  What is the Caravan offering for these services.

Then (assuming it's a usual 4ish hour play session) for the next 3 blocks of planning you focus on each of your destinations and give them the same treatment.  Detailing the boat or ship and it's crew.  Figuring out what's going on in the next town over, outlining the dangers of the forest, building up the witches valley.   
And, don't forget, to look beyond each of these locations.  What if they just blitz to the boat and end up out at sea,  what if they go to the next town over and instead of going across the ocean they continue traveling with the caravan?  Do they find the missing farmer and discover some secret in the depths of the forest?  Do they get lost in the mountains?  What's on the other side of the mountains?  


Why am I bringing this up now?  
A number of reasons?   
For starts, what am I working on?  Why have I been so silent the past few months?  
Research, research, research.  
Planning ahead, just like if I were putting together an adventure for a D&D group.  

My projects? 

On the Fun Side
 outlining and writing scenes for t.v. shows and movies  I'd like to pitch or work on if I ever found my self in the position to do so.   
A sequel to Bumblebee set in early 90's Atlanta following Ratchet and Jazz.
What would an actual reboot of Firefly look like.
What is my idea for a batman series? (1970's street racing following a young Luscious Fox for the record)
Actually working on my little pet project.


On the Academic Side
Studying various online  games and the communities surrounding them.  Fortnite, Destiny, Star Trek Online.  What it takes to build a community within a community, etc.  
Game design, from single player to co-op, to competitive. 
If I designed and released a game what would I make and how would I make it? 
Answer - a co-op game built around exploration and adventure with quarterly story updates that could be played on or offline.  Think if Skyrim were two players but had the game play of the arkham games.
Looking what does the video game world have to offer the public library system and vice versa.


On  the "If I were president side"
How would I be handling the current national and global issues if I were president currently? 
If I were elected in 2024 and these issues were yet unresolved how would I work towards resolving them?   What might they look like if they were unresolved in the next two years?
What plans would I have for working with the national budget?
What projects are started?  What are ongoing? What would I like to see started?
What are my stances on the current issues being raised around the nation and what, if anything, would there be that I could do to influence them?  If in that position, should I influence them?
What would be the main issues I would focus on?
Infrastructure, Education, and Industry...and space...don't forget space. 
Moon Base!


Lastly, I have about four other posts for this blog that are about this length or longer that are sitting in drafts.  Partly because I haven't decided if they would be better served as blog posts or as part of some of the more focused papers I'm working on.

Like one detailing how the last year of being part of an active Destiny clan has gone.  
Short answer...I still don't people super well but it is possible to find non toxic people in a notoriously toxic community. (the shooter genre and online gaming in general) 

And another talking, more in depth, about streaming and telling stories within larger universes. I.E. The pitfalls and positives of using established story telling universes (I.E. Star Trek and Wars, Marvel and D.C.)  and the merits of reboots, adaptations, and retellings (I.E. Hercule Perot, Sherlock Holmes, Shakespeare, and any myth or story based around folklore) 

Ahh, but enough side tracking, back to study and research.  
My least and most favorite things simultaneously.  
I love the process, Love getting into details and building things and planning things.  But sometimes I just want to explore.