Alex "Gus" Gustafson

Category: Life

  • LARPs: The Series

    Tapletop gaming is my preferred leisure time. Some of my favorite nights with friends have been spent playing board games, and recently my social calendar has been spent playing D&D. But one of the great things about being a geek is it’s easy to find joy in others geeking out too.

    So even though I’ve never played in a LARP, the webseries LARPs caught my attention right away. Maybe not right away. Season One was originally released in February-March 2014, and had critical acclaim but wasn’t widely distributed. I started watching when it re-released on Geek & Sundry in January 2015.

    True to the Geeks

    It’s not easy to capture geek cultures in media. It’s too easy to portray the people involved as less-than-normal, making those who engage in activities like role play seem eccentric (at best) or downright strange (at worst.) But downplaying the fantasy and focusing on LARPers as just people with the normal problems of everyone else also belittles the magic the activity can provide. Some amount of balance must be struck.

    LARPs: The Series finds this balance well. The show gives equal interest to its characters who have normal drama and happen to enjoy LARP, along with letting us watch the unfolding story of the Guardians of the Eleventh Eye. Whether they’re playing the game or living their real life becomes secondary to the series. It’s more staging than anything else.

    That feeling of role play being part of real life is what makes it ring true to the fellow geeks who are watching it. It feels real because the games we play really become staging to our lives too. Sure, we know it’s a game, but playing that game with our friends becomes just as much a part of who we are as where we work or the habits we form. The story in LARPs lets that notion develop naturally for the characters and the viewer.

    Season 2

    The first season of LARPs ended with me gasping for air. I moaned out loud wanting to know what would happen next. Everyone had so much still hanging out there. It was so… awkward! In a dramatic irony way, not the socially awkward geek way you normally get when hanging out with me. But it was also so right. The story was meant to pause there.

    Season 2 picks up right where the first left off. There’s lots of tense ideas in play but the story developed much more slowly and thought-out. Every episode still has it’s amazing moments, but there’s no filler at all. The first nine episodes are just a crescendo to an amazing half-hour season finale in episode 10. All the little hanging bits of tension left for us seem to pay off. Everything works out so well, but not as we’d expect at the end of season 1.

    I cried at more than one moment.

    No More Waiting

    While we were still in the middle of season 2, I found myself actually recommending to my friends who were still uninitiated with LARPs to hold off on watching until they could watch both seasons all at once. Because the waits between episodes were really crushing me. I couldn’t wait for them to enjoy the series as much as I had, but I could tell that both seasons combined would make such a beautiful product. The remainder of season 2 didn’t let me down.

    Now is the time! No more waiting! If you’ve not watched LARPs, you have no reason to hold off any longer!

    Binge It

    I made a playlist of all the LARPs: The Series episodes from both seasons in order. So you can binge them all, start to finish, right here:

    Season 3 and the Future of LARPs

    Jon Verrall (writer for the series and the actor who plays Evan) says there’s nothing to announce for a possible season 3 yet. But there’s obviously good potential for that if you watch the conclusion of season 2.  They crowd-funded the second season, but that was before Geek & Sundry went into their new setup as a part of Legendary. Since Tabletop season 4 and Titansgrave season 2 aren’t being crowdfunded I doubt LARPs season 3 will be either.

    However, LARPs also has a different production arrangement from other G&S programming, so I could be way-off. For now it seems the best thing you and I can do to make season 3 happen is to watch the LARPs we’ve got.

    Did You Enjoy LARPs? Why not try:

    • More LARPs
    • Share LARPs
    • Watch LARPs everyday

    Did You Blog About It?

    Please let me know in the comments if you’ve blogged about LARPs: The Series. I keep my posts spoiler-free for the most part, so I’ve decided not to share too many specifics about the episodes. But I’d love to join the conversation on your site if you do!

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  • Photobooth Pictures from Adam & Juanita’s Wedding

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  • Alton Brown Reviews Awful Reviews of Awful Products

    Our household loves Alton Brown. He’s the kind of nerd that reminds the rest of us nerds that we can still be charismatic if we work at it really hard. Having tasty food around helps too. Anyway, Ber found this video today and we both cracked up at it. Enjoy!

     

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  • Balance and the Steady Up-and-Right

    Work-Life balance only seems to work when you zoom out. Any one day is unlikely to effectively balance all your priorities. But in a given week, month, or year, it’s easier to think that many different priorities and focuses can all improve in balance.

    My team lead at Automattic, Simon, has described this to me as a ‘steady up-and-right.’ When we’re looking at my work, any one day doesn’t particularly matter. Some days, one issue takes many hours to resolve. Some days, you may crank out more work than five other people combined. Some days, you may have a doctor appointment that messes up your flow. Some days, you may you need to run a marathon. Those single days don’t matter so long as when you zoom out you see the overall growth.

    It’s possible to watch that growth balance out in your work, your life, your health, or anything else you consider a priority.

    Behavior over time means far more than achievement one day. Don’t seek balance today or tomorrow, look for balance this week, this month, or this year.

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  • Teddy Abrams Nails It On NPR Tiny Desk Concert Appearance

    Teddy continues to be everything a musician should be striving to be. He pushes for the new with great respect for the past. He shares and spreads his passion and knowledge instead of hiding it away for a select few. Dare I say, he’s the kind of musician that makes me want to get back into music.

     

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  • Dinner with the Snowmads

    2015-11-30 22.36.06.jpg

    The Snowmads happened to be in town. It’s a rare thing that we Automatticians get to meetup, so when we do we do it right. Food and drink were had, stories were told, and blogging was sure to follow.

     

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  • Return of the Alton Brown

    The trilogy is complete. Waffles, then pancakes, now cookies. They are so, so good.

    2015-11-29 19.04.27.jpg

    https://twitter.com/alexjgustafson/status/671076512595079169

    You can make them too. Alton Brown’s Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is here.

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  • Alton Brown Strikes Again

    A couple weeks ago we made Alton Brown’s waffles.

    Today we made Alton Brown’s pancakes.

    I’m trying to convince Ber for Alton Brown’s cookies.

    Fat. So fat.

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  • Baby vs. Blanket

    The other day Ber said she did ‘only 8 rows.’ I calculated that out and the number of stitches that equalled out to was almost 3 times the entire work I’ve done on my sock. Dang, she’s fast.

    zarrek33's avatarBrews and Ewes

    We are in the home stretch for the arrival of the little one.  It can literally be any day now.  I’m also nearing the completion of the baby blanket.  Just a couple more color changes.

    I feel like now its just a battle of the wills.  Who will be victorious?

    baby blanket knitting lace

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  • End of the Trimester

    When I was in college every semester felt like torture. Once we got near the end of the semester I’d make a spreadsheet that had everything that was expected of me listed out. Every assignment, paper, exam, meeting, or anything else would be there, color-coded and with a due date assigned. A countdown of every day I had left would be at the top. I couldn’t wait for the spreadsheet to be clear.

    Not kidding when I say I spent some evenings staring at the spreadsheet, just to pass the time while I waited for the end.

    This last trimester of waiting for the baby has felt a bit like that. Everything needs to be completed. Not just baby stuff, everything. That household chore I’ve been putting off, the work project that’s behind schedule. It’s felt like I’ve not stopped rushing in weeks. Some folks will chalk it all up to nesting – I think it’s just good prioritization. When this baby comes I’m not going to give the time of day to anything else, so may as well settle it up now.

    Just like how Accounting homework wasn’t going to touch my Christmas break.

    It’s good that I’m gaining traction though. It’ll be a sprint to the end, but an effective sprint. What’s also been important is that I’ve gotten better at just saying no to a lot of things. Choosing not to do something is a decision and action combined into one – thinking you should do it, not doing it, and feeling guilty about it later is procrastination and really three actions that are all wastes of time.

    Don’t be offended if you invite me to something and I reject it quickly. It’s just the end of the trimester and I’ve got a big test coming up.

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