Project Jasper: Hope for Carrie Edition

So, today my wife went out with a friend to see Star Wars: Rogue One while I spent the day studying the backs of my eyelids (I work the overnight shift at an emergency shelter for troubled youth, for the record, so I had to take one for the team). While I was sleeping, 2016 decided it wanted to continue being a dick and I awoke to the troubling news about actress Carrie Fisher. Having already remarked on how nasty the year has been, I had thought about giving this post an especially nasty title. Fortunately, the more rational parts of my mind and heart teamed up and beat down my inner cynic.

As a continuation of my remembrance of Benoist Poire's canine friend Jasper, my latest entry combines my love for dogs and Star Wars with hope and prayers for Carrie Fisher's full recovery. Here I present Jhaspar Gnarr.

Jhaspar Gnarr, Jedi Padawan (22 BBY)

Artwork from The New Essential Guide To Alien Species; Del Rey; 2006

Male Shistavanen

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 3D+1
Lightsaber 4D
Melee 4D
Melee Parry 4D

KNOWLEDGE 2D
Survival 3D

MECHANICAL 2D
Astrogation 2D+1
Starfighter Piloting 2D+1
Starship Gunnery 2D+1

PERCEPTION 3D

STRENGTH 3D
Stamina 3D+2

TECHNICAL 2D
Lightsaber Repair 3D

Move 10/13

Special Abilities
Night Vision: Shistavanens have excellent night vision and can see in darkness with no penalty

Force Skills
       Control 2D
       Sense 1D

Powers: Remain Conscious (C), Lightsaber Combat (C/S)

Force Points: 2, Character Points: 5, Dark Side Points: 0

Equipment: Two lightsabers (5D dmg. ea.), Jedi battle armor, Jedi robes, commlink, blaster pistol (4D dmg)

A Quote: "Squad Aurek will move around the hills to the southwest. Squad Besh will flank from the east. Master Taresh and I will lead the charge down the center with squads Cresh and Dorn. Hopefully we can convince General Sanguinus of the error of her ways."

SAD UPDATE: This morning (12/27/16) I read with a heavy heart the news that Carrie Fisher passed away. My heart goes out to my fellow fans as well as the rest of the Star Wars cast for the loss of everybody's princess. This post is still a work-in-progress, and I will post a background and Rebellion Era stats for Jhaspar after an appropriate bit of time.

 

For Jasper

While I hadn't planned to write a blog entry until later this weekend (as I'm taking a brief break from NaNoWriMo tonight and possibly tomorrow), an item in my Facebook stream caught my eye. The main item was from a friend expressing frustration over how some gamers can be so inhuman... That in itself is a story and discussion in itself. What caught my eye was a response from one of his fellow designers expressing anger and disgust over an incident which hit close to home:

"A couple of days ago, Jasper, my neighbor's dog, one of my best friends with my boys... was roped by a man, dragged away and shot dead because he was deemed an annoyance. I just learned about it this morning.

"(Update: The RCMP was contacted and though there were witnesses to Jasper's roping, there were none for his shooting. No witnesses, no arrest. Sigh. But read on.)

"You've seen me post about Oafy the Chaos Muppet before. I'm brainstorming about a way to make Jasper a staple, a recurring aid or NPC, to the HSD and the Marmoreal Tomb. An icon along with Oafy, something that is awesome for the game, and respectful of who this awesome dog was in life.

"I also call on whoever would be inspired by this to go ahead and post stuff about Jasper, use his memory as a way to channel your love of all our furry friends, and create awesome stuff for the game. Go ahead.

"Stay tuned. For Jasper."

It's no secret to my friends and family that I'm an animal lover. I grew up on a farm with a dog and countless farm cats over the years, and, despite my allergies, will not hesitate to play with a person's pet if they allow it. My wife, who is also allergic to animal dander, is just as much an animal lover as I. Both of us have a burning hatred of animal abusers.

I never knew Jasper, nor do I personally know the person who posted this sad news. At the same time, I have no connection to or experience with the Hobby Shop Dungeon (HSD) or the poster's project. However, I have known the love of several loyal dogs, all of whom I know would have laid down their lives for me. Despite batting 1 for 3 in that respect, I'm going to write some things in the vein suggested by the poster this weekend for one or more systems under the banner of Project Jasper.

Whether or not you know the poster personally; whether or not you have adventured in the Hobby Shop Dungeon or have contributed to the Kickstarter; if you love animals, I encourage you to spread the word and post something for Jasper on your favorite forum or your own blog. If you can spare the money, buy and donate supplies and toys to an animal shelter or humane society near you. Better yet, if you can spare the time, volunteer there. Both you and the animals will be glad you did. I'm sure Jasper would be glad too.

Once More, With Feeling...

...Good riddance to bad rubbish!!

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, BoingBoing has reported that everybody's favorite fundie, Jack Chick, died yesterday. While BoingBoing's report claims nobody is divulging his cause of death, the Chick Publications Facebook page announced that he passed in his sleep. Like another of his ilk who was sentenced to prison earlier this year, I'm not going to bother talking much about his misdeeds, save to say that he was a hateful, misinformed man who inspired and misinformed many people to spread his hate and ignorance.

As someone who constantly wrestles with my faith, politics, and the meanings of right and wrong, I know how easy it is to get drawn into doing the wrong thing for what some would claim is the right reason. That struggle doesn't get any easier when you have family and friends who all have differing political and religious beliefs - but it sure makes things interesting from time to time.

In all honesty, with regard to Chick's reasoning (or lack thereof) behind his ignorance and hate, I think the smoking gun can be found in this statement from his Wikipedia page (bracketed text added from the actual FAQ to clarify things):

"On his 'Roman Catholicism FAQ', Chick said he began publishing his theories about the Roman Catholic Church because 'he loves Catholics and wants them to be saved through faith in Jesus[, not trusting in religious liturgy and sacraments.]'."

Having studied theology, I know the theological (and political) reasons behind Luther's 95 Theses. He voiced his dissent with regard to an increasingly meddlesome Papacy which indulged in greed and idolatry in a variety of ways, ranging from letters of indulgence to priests and bishops marrying into powerful families and fathering illegitimate children to gain money and property. Luther wanted to break down the barrier between the people and God's word that was imposed by the church. While that is certainly how Chick's reasoning appears on the surface, his ideas are much more conspiratorial and derogatory when exposed to the light of day.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not an angel. I get angry; I mess up; I stumble; and when I fall, it results in a pretty heavy thud (both literally and metaphorically). I can only hope that now that he's on the other side, Chick has seen the error of his ways because his minions employees have vowed to stay the course.

The madness continues...

My response. For context, start here and read to here. Something Positive is ©2016 R.K. Milholland.

In closing, I'll leave this bit of wisdom from Isaiah 5:20-21 (NIV) for us all, myself included.

Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

and clever in their own sight.

And 2016, I know you did this to try and get back in my good graces. For the record, you're not even close...

Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish

Work has been taking a lot out of me physically and mentally, leaving me with little desire to create and write. In short, the soundtrack in my head has been Slough Feg's "Psionic Illuminations" and occasionally Blue Oyster Cult's "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" played on one continuous loop for the past couple of weeks.  However, the following topic made me sit up and take notice because it's a milestone in the history of the hobby, especially for those of us who started rolling our polyhedrals in the early and mid 1980s. What I'm talking about is the sentencing of Thomas Radecki, one of several individuals who were a scourge and pox on gamers during the satanic panic of those days.

Radecki permanently surrendered his license back in 2012 after he was accused of trading psychiatric drugs in exchange for sexual favors. I'm not going to get into the foul details of this blackguard's misdeeds; you can read those for yourself in the links above. As an individual who has been counseled by a number of upstanding and excellent caregivers in the mental health field I'm disgusted that Radecki betrayed the trust and violated the human rights of his patients for his own sick gain. Thinking of him makes me throw up a little in my mouth even as I write this.

I find it odd and ironic that the 70-year-old Radecki's sentencing to 10-22 years in prison intersects with discussion of the satanic panic and its effects on several popular RPG forums. Why people found it necessary - let alone desirable - to dredge up memories of a terrible time in a lot of gamers' lives, I don't know. Then again, the Internet is a weird place where a lot of people seem to take pleasure in others' suffering.

I was fortunate in that I didn't suffer many (if any) terrible effects from the satanic panic. I lived out in the boonies of northwestern Iowa and kept my gaming to myself; I didn't try to share it with anyone until high school, whereupon I received some pointed teasing from some classmates because they didn't understand it. Other gamers had it much, much worse, not only at the hands of their classmates, but also from "concerned" parents, relatives, and other figures of authority. I use the threat quotes because in some cases the "concern" about "satanic influences" was just another excuse to enact spiritual, physical, verbal, and emotional abuse upon the victim.

This karmic smackdown has been a long, long time coming thanks to the slow-turning wheels of our overloaded and oft-abused justice system. It comes as cold comfort to me - as I'm sure it does for the victims of his direct abuse - that Radecki is finally getting what he deserves only because patience is not one of my virtues. Some figures of the satanic panic have experienced a merciful fade from relevance and prominence, while others remain due to the tenacity of their ignorant beliefs. While the court of law has proven one cannot libel or slander the dead, I won't even bother to speak in detail about Sean Sellers and Patricia Pulling, each deceased now 20 years. Doing so won't undo the harm they did, nor will it affect their ultimate fate.

Having written this, I can honestly say I feel a little better. Hopefully this turn of events brings us closer to ending this painful chapter of our hobby's history and gives closure to those afflicted by it.