Bill Bodden's Blog, page 2

Hit Refresh

A brand new year, and in keeping with a fresh start, there's some junk from last year that I'd like to get rid of. Call it a kind of emotional/mental housecleaning, if you must. Please bear with me as I vent just a bit.

First, the word "staycation" has got to go. It's a word that's meant to placate us when we don't have the time or resources to take a vacation somewhere other than at home. In this case, it isn't safe for anyone to do a lot of traveling, so staying home is more of a necessity. Staycation just rubs salt into the wound with it's forced cheerfulness, and I'd be grateful to see it gone from the lexicon permanently, perhaps by being...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2021/01/05/hit-...

The Nostalgia of Molten Plastic

I came across something that caught my eye the other day. I was scrolling through Facebook, and saw an ad: "Mold-A-Rama Machines For Sale" I clicked on it. It was a business called "Moldville" that specialized in such things, and they listed a phone number with the caution in all caps: SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY. We have a small, townhouse-style condo, and a not unlimited amount of disposable income; as much as my nostalgia nerve would LOVE to own one, it's not only not practical, it's nearly impossible.

At one time in the early 1970s, Mold-A-Rama machines were ubiquitous in museums, zoos, and other attractions all over the US. They were injection molding machines, and the plexiglass bubble allowed you to see a limited part of the process - basically, the two halves of the mold coming together, and then, when they separated, you saw your molded statue in all it's shiny plastic glory, as a spatula-like device scraped the statue off the base underneath, dumping it into a slot for your convenient retrieval. There were dozens of different designs in a wide array of colors - some designs specific to the place - like Disney theme parks and Sea World - while others were more generic. There were animals, vehicles (including the Space Shuttle) and things like Santa, Christmas trees, and even the Houston Astrodome. I still have one, from the...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/12/29/the-...

Blog Post Takeover!

T, photographed at TeslaCon, 2012

Hi there, I am T, occasionally mentioned in this blog, long-suffering author's wife and gamer-by-marriage. It's a Blog Takeover! 

While it's tempting to just tell you embarrassing stories about Bill, I suspect that my account would not be published here. And after all, he's already told you that he's a hoarder of stuff (see the beer can post), that retail customers often make him surly (see the War on Christmas post), and that he knows far too much about the Lovecraftian Mythos (see, well, everything). It's not like I could top that. (Without significant bribes.) But if you've never lived with a writer/gamer like Bill, you might like to hear some of my odder encounters with his alternate personalities. Bill tends to hole up in his office -- where I try not to disturb him or his jungle of houseplants -- and then suddenly emerge as someone else: 

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/12/23/blog...

Ghost of a Chance

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to join a UW student union mini-course on being a ghost hunter. It was only a few sessions long, and met once a week. Tuition for the class was cheap, so I figured "why not?" The target of our investigation would be the student union building itself. Built in 1928, a theater wing was added to the Memorial Union ten years later. Despite being a relatively modern building, the Memorial Union has a significant history of hauntings.

The UW-Madison MemorialUnion. This central part of the building is the oldest. The theater wing can just barely be glimpsed at the left of this photo.

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/12/15/ghos...

A Bird In the Hand...

We had an unusual invitation drop in our laps last week. T posted a comment to a picture by our local zoo. The photo was of a Tawny Frogmouth - a bird native to Australia - and she remarked how it was something both of us would love to see up close some day. As it turns out, an acquaintance of ours works at the Henry Vilas Zoo, and saw the comment. She called T and asked if we'd like to "meet" the bird, whose name is Hagrid, in person! Of course we said "YES!!!" and plans were set in motion...

We arrived at the zoo on the appointed day a few minutes early. The zoo walking paths have been cordoned off to direct all traffic in a long, one-way loop to maximize social distancing. Everyone was wearing masks (which is as it should be) and we headed over to the barn where Hagrid lives. It was a chilly day, with temperatures in the upper 30s Fahrenheit, but the flamingoes were out enjoying the sun. We were escorted into the foyer of the building, and waiting while Hagrid was prepared to meet us.

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/12/08/a-bi...

DC Finally Gets It

With the runaway success of the extended Marvel Universe in film, you'd think DC would be copying everything Marvel did that was successful. They may have been slow on the uptake - or maybe they were absolutely certain that their way was better - but finally, the DC universe is starting to get a slate of films worthy of bringing their vast stable of interesting characters to life.

Insisting that women couldn't be the stars of films was the first mistake that DC - and to be fair, Marvel - made in their outdated assumptions. Wonder Woman proved that by smashing box office records. There are few films more eagerly anticipated than the Wonder Woman sequel film - Wonder Woman 1984 - except perhaps Marvel's Black Widow film starring Scarlett Johansen. Another gigantic hit was Marvel's Captain Marvel, which did very well indeed, ranking in the top 30 for all-time box office earnings, drawing almost half again as much revenue as Wonder Woman.

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/12/01/dc-f...

Fun & Games

I've spent a large portion of my life playing - and writing for - tabletop role-playing games. I have a few favorites to be sure, and I'd like to spend this week's post talking about some of them - what I like about them, and why.

First up is the Big Daddy of all tabletop RPG, Dungeons & Dragons. Have to say I'm super-pleased with 5th edition (the current incarnation). It streamlined a lot of the clutter from the 3rd and 4th editions, while still keeping a rich level of detail. It's easily the most popular tabletop RPG, and for good reason: not only was it first in the genre and largely the default setting for tabletop RPGs, but it continues to draw a steady stream of new gamers into the hobby, some of whom discover other RPGs with settings they find more compelling and therefore supporting other companies as well. I've written a modest amount of material using the D&D system for a third-party setting, the Scarred Lands. My material was written under the community content program, known as the Slarecian Vault: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/4261/Onyx-Path-Publishing/subcategory/8329_29809/Slarecian-Vault

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/11/24/fun-...

Cryptid-a-Go-Go

Cryptids fascinate me. Having had a few supernatural experiences myself - even been on ghost hunting expeditions once or twice - the hook for High Weirdness has been set firmly in my cheek. I thought I'd spend some time talking about a few of my favorites, and I hope you'll find one or two that you find compelling as well.

Perhaps the most famous cryptid in Wisconsin is the Beast of Bray Road. (T and I just watched a recent documentary about the critter, as pictured above, so it's fresh in my mind.) This is a large, humanoid creature with a wolf-like head and hind legs. Some say it's a werewolf, some claim it's demonic, but no one's had a good chat with it to discover the truth. I am passingly familiar with the area; for a while I was part of a monthly writers' beer-and-bitch group that met in a tavern in downtown Elkhorn, the vicinity of most of the sightings of the Beast. I never got near Bray Road, mostly because of inconvenience, but I was always curious. With these sorts of things, it's best to be prepared: don't go looking for trouble unless you're ready for it, and I never was on those trips. Still, I'm curious...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/11/17/cryp...

Sifting Through Memories

This autumn has been declared the Season of Decluttering at our house, and I've been sorting through boxes and bags of stuff trying to winnow down the crap-ton of my stuff into a mere mountain's worth. Along the way, I've found a few interesting artifacts - ones that triggered memories of places visited, fortunes lost, and friendships long shelved.

In rummaging through my closet to pull out boxes of books to sort, I discovered a large, black trash bag. Inside was a trove of commemorative shirts from conventions, and displaying hobbies and interests - some of which I still enjoy. There's the American Civil War Iron Brigade commemorative shirt, bought years ago. It's an extra-large, a pleasing shade of blue, and still fits, so I'm keeping it. Lots of shirts from the days when there was a,,,

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/11/11/sift...

Keeping It Together

The last few months have been difficult ones for all of us. For myself, I'm doing my best to keep it together. Staying home so much is fine; I have T and the cats for company, and if I really need a change of scenery, I mask up and go out for a walk and play some Pokemon Go. I mostly walk around my own neighborhood, and encounter very few people.

I've been the one to mask up and go out for...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/11/03/keep...