Reflective Debates

            This week I had the fascinating experience of participating in a political debate. Not real for real politics, of course, although real enough to merit the attention of myself and others. However, like most things that aren’t real, it granted very accurate insight into the function of real politics – and I came out not only with a greater respect for politicians, but with a much greater understanding of why it takes them so long to get anything done.

            The topic for debate was around the development of policies for the group I joined that is eagerly awaiting the release of the Chronicles of Elyria. In essence, a decision needed to be made on how to deal with people who choose to settle on our land, but choose not to officially join the larger group. It may not seem like such a hard decision to make, but there are a lot of nuances surrounding it.

            For a bit more frame of reference, in Elyria (which is a MMORPG), the governmental system (including laws and taxes) is controlled by players. So a lot of things have to be considered – such as military strategy, infrastructure, and resource management (as resources are finite and can be exhausted). So the question was, if someone takes control of some land and pays their taxes and follows the laws of the larger governing body, but doesn’t engage in the co-operative initiatives of the larger group, how should they be handled?

            This topic had been getting discussed by the policy-makers, and when it came down to being time for making the policy, they put out a call for anyone interested in helping to write it. I suggested an open forum for the discussion, and was surprised when it actually happened – and resulted in a five hour long conversation.

            I won’t bore you with the details, but it boiled down to two polar ideals, with everyone involved somewhere on a spectrum between the two. At one end were the people who believed that the settlements should be left alone so long as they didn’t prove hostile or cause problems by being unwilling to trade resources, and at the other end were the people who believed such settlements as refuse to join the bigger group should be immediately and forcefully eliminated.

            The result, in the end, is still yet to be determined – but we provided some new ideas for the policy writers, and showed them that the will of the people had the same spectrum of opinions as the governing body – which was determined to be a good thing, as it meant the views of the people were accurately represented.

            For my part, it was mostly an enjoyable experience, working with the more open-minded people to find a middle ground. There was also some frustration with the less open-minded people who, rather than discussing, stated their opinion repeatedly and wouldn’t sway from their viewpoint in the least.

            Coming out of it, my overall thought was, “Well... so this is why governments in the real world take so long to accomplish anything.” Suddenly I have more respect for what politicians deal with.

            And, once again, we see how well fiction reflects reality. Many people may declaim that “it’s just a game”, but what we’re seeing is a microcosm that reflects our own world. I can’t wait for this game to launch so I can see where this goes.

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Interpreting Reflections

            Art holds a mirror up to the world. It takes what the artist sees in the world, changes around a bit, then shows the artist’s interpretation of the world to those who view, read, hear, and even taste or smell it. Sometimes it’s merely a reflection for the sake of entertainment, and other times it has deeper meanings – bordering on educational. It’s one of the great things about art, as combining entertainment with education is the most effective way to teach – and, being open to interpretation, art allows people to come to their own conclusions. Yet, sometimes I wonder if we artists reflect too much.

            When artists set out to create deep, meaningful interpretations of the world that allow them to share their ideas and revelations with others, they take the elements of the world they want to showcase and make them very prominent in their work. The idea is often to say, “Hey, look at this! Does it remind you of anything?” and then proceed to show the observer why it is good, bad, or sometimes just to get them thinking about it. It is a marvelous form of education, but sometimes we have to stop to consider... What exactly are we teaching?

            Back in highschool, an English class assignment was to examine the lyrics of a song and interpret the meaning of it. One of my classmates chose a song that I was amazed the teacher even allowed to have the lyrics shown for his presentation. However, as he went through the song, he was representing it as a satire – a commentary on a particular type of lifestyle rather than, as it appeared to me, bragging and lauding said lifestyle. Until then, it never would have occurred to me that the song was satirical – and that’s where we hit a major flaw.

            What happens when something is intended to be satire, and people interpret it as real? What happens when commentary is interpreted as praise? What happens when metaphor is taken to be literal? What happens when an artist is just making art and people are convinced it’s full of deep meanings?

            What ends up being learned isn’t always what was intended – and learning wasn’t even necessarily intended in the first place. However, learning is what humans do constantly – we take in our surroundings and interpret and learn from them. We don’t even know we’re doing it half the time. We just keep absorbing and absorbing....

            So, when an artist presents to us the world as it is, highlighting the flaws, some people will see what the artist is saying and learn from it – maybe even help the world to change and grow. Others may see it and simply disagree, while others will miss the point entirely. Often what will happen is that people will see it as just a straight up statement of “This is how it is!” which they will take to mean it’s normal, which is the most dangerous view of all.

            By showing the world as it is, artists can inadvertently reinforce the very flaws they seek to highlight. The art reflects the world, and the world – upon seeing its reflection – says, “This is how it should be,” or perhaps, “This is how it is, and there’s nothing to be done about it.” Then the art is no longer teaching us about the flaws in the world; it is teaching us to make all the same mistakes of the past.

            It makes me wonder what the difference would be if there was a dramatic shift in art – from reflecting the world as it is, to reflecting the world as it could be. What changes might be wrought in our society if, rather than displaying and normalising how everything is, art showed us how the world could be? I suppose it’s possible that it could do nothing. On the other hand, it might make all the difference in the world.

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Blurring the Lines

            Last week showed gave me one of the greatest experiences I‘ve had to date while playing Dungeons & Dragons – and, believe me, I’ve had a lot of great things come out of that game. Those who’ve played D&D know that, every now and then, there are moments that are... indescribable. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try to describe them anyway. These moments happen when the players are so invested in what’s happening in the game that they almost forget that they’re playing a game. It almost seems like reality blends over into the game world.

            Most often, these times come in situations that bring up strong emotions for the characters – sometimes it’s when the characters are bonding; sharing tales of their past and feeling vulnerable. Sometimes it’s when they are discussing what they want to do next and they have very hard decisions to make. Sometimes it’s when one of the characters has died – and it feels like an actual friend has been lost.

            This week, I presented the players in my game with a decision that would shape the future of the world they’re playing in – and I was careful to make the decision as challenging as possible. You can read a more detailed account of the game over here, but for the purposes of this blog I’m just going to outline the scenario.

            The players have helped found a settlement in a new land that seems to be bereft of civilization. They have been working hard to establish the place and keep it safe. In this game session, they woke up one morning to discover that the settlement’s first baby was being born, to someone they had known for a long time and was very close friends with one of the characters. The child was born, but he was a tiefling (a demonic form of humanoid that is generally mistrusted by society) – which might not have been a problem if his mother hadn’t been a human. A mob arose, crying “demon worship” and “witch” and wanting to slay the mother and child.

            The player characters were on hand to diffuse the situation, but it was a bit much for them alone. They had to get the help of a known racist (racism in D&D tends towards species, rather than skin color) who had a great deal of influence. He managed to disperse the crowd with a promise that the council (which the players are part of) would solve the problem. Then, at the council, he proposed the idea of segregating the settlement into districts based on race.

            As you can guess, the players (most of which have characters of minority races) were not too happy about this, but the council put it to a vote, with each council member voicing their opinion. Now, as the Dungeon Master of the game, I had to put a lot of work into this situation. I wanted the players to have a direct influence on the outcome of this vote, so the majority of the rest of the council had to vote in favor of the segregation – which meant I had to come up with a lot of very convincing reasons for it; a challenge for someone who is actually opposed.

            In the end, the scenario was designed so that, in order to avoid segregation, the players had to all vote against it – plus, on top of that, they had to convince the final voter, who would break the tie. Now, here’s what happened:

            After hearing the arguments of the rest of the council, one of the players was actually swinging towards voting for segregation (a very rewarding situation for me, on its own, because it meant that the arguments I came up with were believable and convincing). The other five wouldn’t even consider it. One by one, they each gave an impassioned speech against racial segregation; about why this plan would fail and backfire. They didn’t just say “my character gives a speech”, they actually made the speeches themselves. Each and every one of them was incredible – so much so that I wish I’d recorded the session so I could share their words. They were so well thought-out and convincing that they convinced they brought the final member of their party back to their side of the argument.

            And they easily convinced the swing vote (and even some of opposing votes) that they were correct, successfully preventing the entire settlement from going down a very dark path.

            The amazing part is how connected they were to the whole scenario, and that even I – the man behind the curtain who knows how everything works and pulls all the strings – was drawn into that psudo-reality where the story we were telling became something more than just a story. That’s very hard to achieve from the DM’s omnipotent position.

            Those are the rare and glorious moments that make D&D more than just a game – it briefly transforms into something magical shared by a group of people. I wish they happened more frequently, but then, I suppose they wouldn’t be as special then.

            Still, if you ever wondered why people play something like D&D, this is partially why. It’s also why you should try it out, too.

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Mob Mentality

            It always boggles my mind how easily people’s opinions are swayed, particularly in this age where information is so accessible. Discovering the truth of a situation is a bit of quick research away, and only requires a little bit of critical thinking to figure out the truth.

            For example, word reached my ears this week that J.K. Rowling is homophobic. I laughed, because anyone who knows anything about that woman knows this to be untrue. However, a lot of people – even professionals in the literary world – were buying into this rumor. So I did my research – and I still can’t believe that people are believing this rumor when all they have to do is read.

            The evidence for J.K. Rowling being homophobic is that someone involved with the latest Harry Potter movie said that Dumbledore (known to be a gay character) will not be openly gay in the movie. So people immediately assumed that, since Rowling wrote the screenplay, she was chickening out from presenting the character as gay. The mob mentality roused and people began haranguing the Rowling about it.

            Her response was quite simple and to the point. She muted people on social media, saying that she wasn’t going to accept abuse from people who read an interview that she wasn’t involved with about a screenplay they hadn’t read – incidentally, a screenplay that was the first in a five part series.

            Somehow, people took this as proof that Rowling is homophobic, when it is quite literally staying the opposite. It’s almost explicitly stating that Dumbledore, while perhaps not portrayed as openly gay in the first movie, will become so over the course of the series.

            Yet, the rumor has been started – and people are believing it. Why? It’s so easy to find the truth, but people are so eager (as with political situations) to believe the first thing they read that they don’t go digging. They would rather believe a falsehood and flip their opinion about a person or a subject than do a bit of research.

            Why? Is it simply not worth the effort to fact check? Is it mob mentality – everyone else is saying it, so let’s not go against the crowd? Is it pure emotion – has the internet given us such a safe place to lash out at the smallest provocation that we no longer show any restraint? Is it simply that people care so little about their opinions that they don’t care if they change their mind about it, so they go with the clickbait headlines rather than the facts?

            To me, it speaks to something rotten at the core of our society. What it comes down to is that news is viewed as a form of entertainment – not by those who consume it, but by those who create it. This has come to be because, given a choice between news that is boring and news that is entertaining, people will always choose the one that’s entertaining – so the news has become more entertaining, more dramatic, to compete. The result is that facts and truth get lost amid a swirl of opinions and misdirections intended to draw people in.

            And, slowly, the truth has stopped mattering to us. It’s the entertainment that matters. People believe what they read, because they trust the source – or, conversely, distrust what they read from sources they don’t like, regardless of accuracy. Many even believe satirical articles that they didn’t realize was satirical.

            So, is that all it is? Do people no longer care what’s real? Is it too difficult for us to figure out what’s real?

            Or is it just easier to follow the crowd? After all, when has a mob ever been wrong?

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

To see the chainmaille my wife and I make, click here.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Opinionated Facts

            We humans have a very bad habit of assuming our opinions are facts. It seems a strange thing to do, but we do it nevertheless, and, once they’re formed, we will defend our opinions ‘til the end of the world, often regardless of other information.

            The fact that a man lies dead in his bed is indisputable. Yet, with no other information than that single sentence, you just formed an opinion about the cause of his death. If you readers were to express those opinions to each other, there’s a good chance you would end up arguing about it. Some would say the man died of natural causes, comfortably in his bed. Others would say he was murdered. Some might even posit that an accident occurred where he slipped and bumped his head on the side of the bed.

            A few more facts would only fuel the argument. The dead man is splayed on the bed, face down. It can be argued that this is how he sleeps, possibly tossing and turning. Of course, it could also be that he was killed, and that’s how he landed – or perhaps he was smothered. The splayed position also works for someone who has fallen.

            A glass of some clear liquid lies spilled on the floor beside the bed. That may sway some of those who believe that this was a natural death to the side of the murder-believers, but the staunchest supporters will insist that he could have knocked it off the bedside table as he slept. On the other hand, it could be poisoned. Is it even water? Perhaps the man had been drinking, which led to that fateful bump on the head.

            Facts are points of information, but what they mean is so often opinion. This is evident in the scientific process – when an experiment is designed, it is done with the intent of proving a specific theory – which means that there is already an opinion about what the results will reveal. If there is any room for interpretation in those results, what do you think the findings will be?

            The more we discover, the more humans become aware of this discrepancy. It has led many to believe that there is no such thing as reality – that facts are only there to support reality. This has led to all kinds of confusion and even beliefs that the facts, themselves, may be changed to suit one’s needs.

            However, there obviously is only one reality (the one I believe in, of course), otherwise we wouldn’t be able to interact in it. The real trouble comes from the facts – or, rather, either the lack of facts, or the way the facts are presented. For there is far too much information in the world for one person to discover on their own, and the only way to get a sufficient amount of facts is through someone else’s opinion.

            That means we are required to trust someone else’s opinion in order to gain the information we require. That seems reasonable enough – only, why would you trust the opinions of someone who has a different opinion than you?

            So, the facts are that a man lies dead on his bed. He’s splayed face-down, and there’s a spilled glass of a clear liquid on the floor. There’s also a red silk scarf wrapped around his neck. How did he die?

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Musings on Reality

            It seems to me that there are a lot of people in the world who believe themselves to be right. They look at the world and declare that “This is the way it is!” This wouldn’t be much of a surprise (or a problem) if they all agreed – but they don’t.

            How can this be? Morality I can understand being debated, as there are many grey areas, but about the actual facts of the world, how can people argue? How can people still believe that the world is flat, when there is proof it is not? Is it simply that they haven’t seen it with their own eyes and, therefore, will believe what makes the most sense to them?

            It seems a feeble argument to base a belief on. Are we, then, to believe that stars are fireflies that flew too high and got stuck in the sky, simply because we, ourselves, haven’t done the science to determine what they are? Are we, then, to question everything we’re told, for fear that it might be false? What a tiny existence we would live if each of us stopped trusting what we are taught and rely only on what we experience in our own lives.

            It could be, as some philosophers have said, that each of us lives in our own reality. It seems more likely to me that we all live in the same reality, but we each live within our own interpretations of it.

            How else can it be that there are so many people who know for a fact that what they believe is the one and only truth? How do they not see the irony that, while they are proclaiming the one true truth, another is proclaiming an opposing one true truth and that from the outside they both look identical?

            Is reality, then, a construct of ours that doesn’t exist, or a constant that we can only catch a glimpse of? I suspect we’re all too busy arguing amongst ourselves about what reality is for us to discover what is actually real. For, it seems to me, that the only way we can truly understand the vast universe we live in is to trust each other and pool our knowledge.

            Reality isn’t something that can be viewed from an extreme point of view; only by finding the middle point, where all views overlap, can we truly define what is real.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her life coaching website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Difficult Decisions

            Lately I’ve been playing Skyrim – one of the best video games out there. There are a large number of factors that make this game so good, but one of them is the amount of choices you have in the game.

            At the beginning of the game, you go through a brief introduction to the main plotline accompanied by learning how to play the game, then you are sent out into a massive world. From that point on, you can do whatever you want. You can follow the main quest to get to the end of the game, or just go off exploring and doing minor side quests. If you want to go around stealing from all the residents of the world, you can (although you may find yourself in jail). If you want to ignore the quests and focus on skills, go right ahead.

            However, the brilliance of Bethesda (the company that made the game) shines through the most when it comes to the decisions you have to make as part of a quest. Some of them are black and white with a clear right and wrong, but some of them... some of them just have no good choice to make.

            There are a number of big quest lines alongside the main one, and one of these is a perfect example one of these challenging decisions. It’s a decision so hard to make that I have yet to make it once – even though this is my third time playing through the game and it is the second most important plotline.

            Basically, the nation of Skyrim is part of an Empire which recently signed a peace treaty that, among other things, outlawed the worship of one of the world’s gods. That particular god was particularly revered by the people of Skyrim and it has incited a rebellion against the Empire.

            It falls to you, the player, to choose the side of the war. Empire, or rebellion? Well, it may seem like a simple choice at first, but as you delve deeper into the plot, you discover more about each side of the war.

The rebels are in their homeland, being banned from worshipping one of their gods, thus their cause is just. Of course, the leader of the rebellion killed the High King of Skyrim – there is debate among the populace as to whether it was a legal challenge or outright murder.

            On the other hand, the Empire only banned the worship of this god because it was the only way to save the Empire from a more powerful enemy. That particular enemy is in the background watching and even fuelling the civil war as it weakens both sides. That means it would be better to side with the Empire because it consolidates power for the future when the lurking enemy takes to the offensive again – at which time, presumably, the god could be worshipped again. Yet, to take that side is to go against the freedom of the people.

            As you wander the world, you receive propaganda from both sides of the war. The Empire is weak and wants to rule Skyrim with a puppet queen. The rebel leader is a murderer and just wants power. When you enter one of the Empire controlled cities you witness a public execution. When you enter the city of the rebel leader you discover that the humans living there are extremely racist against the elves.

            The more information you receive, the harder the decision is to make. Because, there really is no good decision – either choice has negative consequences. Now, of course, this is only a game. It doesn’t really matter what choice you make.

            However, many real life decisions are just as complicated and convoluted. Choices are only rarely black and white – in spite of how we often treat everything as if it is. And that is what is so amazing about Skyrim.

            Fantasy reflects reality. It is a tool we can use to observe and reflect upon our lives and our world. In the end, it may give us better understanding. Or it could just infuriate us. It’s all up to how we choose to look at things.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her life coaching website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Thought Exercise

            I've always wondered about the thought exercise suggesting that reality is just a figment of each individual’s imagination; the idea that there isn't any proof that anyone outside yourself exists.

            I think, therefore I am.

            I look at the world, though, and see plenty of people just as sentient as me. Unless, of course, I bestow that sentience upon them.

            I think you think, therefore I think you are.

            Hmmm...

            Then I look at all the people who express ideas that don’t contain so much as an ounce of logic. That’s enough proof for me.

            I couldn't possibly think of an idea as stupid as that, even in the pretence that I was thinking on behalf of a figment of my imagination, therefore you are.

            Problem solved.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.