The interview meme

[freyakitten]

lederhosen asked me:

1. Competitive bridge. Is it 'just a game', or do players take things personally a la Bobby Fischer?
Let me just google that... Ah, chess. Yes, some people do get that obsessive. One of my fellow Youth players is writing his thesis (he may have finished it by now) about probability in bridge. Many many words on exactly how likely any one person is likely to hold any one hand of cards given all these other factors... He tends to bid too much and too randomly, though.

At any party of bridge players, sooner or later someone will turn to someone else and say "You hold..." and tell them all about something that they did the previous week. Which reminds me, I have a hand here from the Women's trials that I just have to share... Later.

You could go have a look at My favourite bridge 'law' ;) I also play that 2 beers = 1 spirits and thus that 21 beer cards mean that partner has to pay me a bottle of Valdespino. I have not yet managed to collect that many, but with some partners I am getting close.

Like chess, bridge can be played for fun or blood.

2. Roleplaying - what games and what styles of play do you enjoy?

Yes. ;)

The people I play with most frequently compromised on DnD 2nd Edition. The thing that irritates me most about this system is the skills and the way they are portrayed. You can't play a master chef who just happens to be a knife-wielding bandit. It costs too many proficiency slots to be the master chef who wields a knife, and then you have none to use on horse-riding or anything else useful for the world outside a kitchen. And there are never any skill proficiency checks (the way it gets played by the group) except for tracking, thief skills, and weapons skills, anyway.

Of the systems that I have been exposed to, I prefer GURPS for its customisability and for the happy memories ;) I also like the prerequisites, because it makes sense to my brain, but I prefer that one is not required to have a skill in a prerequisite greater than or equal to the postrequisite, particularly when it comes to spells. How else can you have a mage who hasn't practiced his basics in so long that he fumbles Alter Fire?

Shadowrun, as it was played with me, is OK, but I really don't get guns. And it'll take quite a bit more work with my brain before I can get my head around some other concepts in the system. But it was fun - even though I nearly died because my character was basically a stealth nut and the scenario worked better if I was a tank.

Styles of play: I really enjoy games where people really get into their character. I tend to look on roleplaying as table-based improvisational acting with rules. So when people start rearranging their thinking to be the character, I enjoy myself more. Especially if the phrases "I hit something, yes?" and "Great, big, huge tracts of land" don't come up because those phrases, while funny references, aren't actually in character, as the character is being portrayed... Sorry, minor rant. It also shits me when people say "The healer heals me!" or "The thief goes and picks the lock!" or something to that effect when they are not playing the character being talked about. It's like they had this great idea, but they don't think about having their character ask, or suggest it to my character in character because they're not trying to be or think like the character that they're playing. And I don't really know how to deal with it, or get them to stop.

3. Art. Representational or non-representational? Classical or modern?

Yes. ;)

I do tend to prefer art created in more recent times. But that's not exclusive. I really enjoy art where I know or know of, the creator. My favoured media are canvas, jewellery, and glass. And rocks. Things with an orange base colour tend to annoy rather than captivate me.

4. Books. What makes a good book or a bad one for you?

If reading it is not a chore, then it is a good book. It might be good for different reasons - the interactions between characters, the descriptions, the action, the implausability, the in-jokes and humour, and the philosophical viewpoint are all reasons I might find a book interesting enough to finish. Having it be interesting enough to read again makes it a good book.

5. Which is scarier, zombies or clowns?

Zombie clowns. In this town. Hands down.

Neither are particularly scary, but I startle easily, so surprise me with either in my face and I'll freak.

Comments

[enkorvaks.livejournal.com]

ask me the questions, bridgekeeper, I'm not afraid.

[freyaw.livejournal.com]

1. You have a one line bio. Give me the gift of a second line. Please?

2. Favourite meal that someone else cooks/cooked you. This can be a restaurant meal, something you remember eating once, whatever. It just has to be edible. And something that you can't do better. I'm asking everyone this one, I want to know...

3. What flavour of paganity do you subscribe to? Or, if you prefer not to answer, tell me about your philosophy of life and all therein.

4. You and other people have mentioned Invader Zim at various points. Describe, in your own words, what it is.

5. List a few pet hates.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

Ask me!

[reverancepavane.livejournal.com]

More questions. Must have questions... Collect them all and own the complete set! Feed me, Seymour!

[freyaw.livejournal.com]

1. Favourite meal that someone else cooks/cooked you. This can be a restaurant meal, something you remember eating once, whatever. It just has to be edible. And something that you can't do better.

2. Have you heard... No I can't ask you that one, you might find out and spoil the surprise... Therefore I shall ask: Why is garlic not one of your interests?

3. If you had a backyard of a perfect size, climate, and soil type to grow one plant, and you didn't have to do anything to take care of it, what would you plant?

4. Will you do the Dagobah Swamp Monkey for me on Saturday?

5. *poke* When was the last time you updated your website? *poke*

[reverancepavane.livejournal.com]

Done.

[freyaw.livejournal.com]

*comes back from looking at previous questions to make sure that I don't repeat any but my own*

1. Favourite meal that someone else cooks/cooked you. This can be a restaurant meal, something you remember eating once, whatever. It just has to be edible. And something that you can't do better.

2. What things mean home to you?

3. I'm a conditional genie. I grant musical mastery... Pick an instrument, and explain to your fans why you chose it. Borrowed this one from enkorvaks who was asked it by someone else

4. If you had the opportunity to meet any one person, fiction or non-fiction, who would it be and why?

5. Are you (and your lovely wife) available to have dinner some time between 23/7 and 5/8?