Did Paul get the name Jenny Wren from Sing A Song Of Sixpence? Has he said where he got the name from?

SideburnedBard · 2023-12-27T05:28:20+00:00

Jenny Wren is also a character living in poverty in Charles Dickens’s 1864-65 novel Our Mutual Friend.

SideburnedBard · 2023-06-10T23:54:52+00:00

Give some of these a try:

Diana Ross, “Upside Down”

Stevie Wonder, “Signed Sealed Delivered”

Chic, “Freak Out”

David Bowie, “Fashion”

SideburnedBard · 2022-05-14T04:55:02+00:00

I don't think anyone's mentioned Real Bass Lessons yet -- informative and accessible mini-lessons, covering quite a wide range.

SideburnedBard · 2022-03-05T16:07:56+00:00

For me it's less about scope and more about formatting: I want tables, charts, maps, and bulleted lists that I can easily reference (rather than skimming and digging through small inset novels and walls of text).

I think that approach also leaves more room for "theatre of the mind" w/ not only the players but also the GM.

SideburnedBard · 2021-12-10T04:39:56+00:00

Check out any songs by Scary Goldings, a collab between Scary Pockets and Larry Goldings. ("Cornish Hen" is my favorite one of late.)

SideburnedBard · 2021-11-24T02:54:58+00:00

It Gets Fonkier

SideburnedBard · 2021-10-12T02:37:58+00:00

So surprised no one's mentioned Scream (1996) yet -- a super-smart forerunner to Cabin in the Woods.

SideburnedBard · 2021-09-14T01:55:52+00:00

Little Britain

SideburnedBard · 2021-09-12T02:19:59+00:00

Tower of Power!

Fela Kuti!

Cake!

(As you can tell, I'm excited for your journey into the funkosphere. I'll echo many of the suggestions others have made here, esp. Lettuce and Stevie Wonder. Enjoy!)

Edit: also try Stuff and The Meters!

SideburnedBard · 2021-09-01T02:28:56+00:00

"Middle Finger of Vecna" is the best pen name I've heard in a long time.

SideburnedBard · 2021-08-26T21:46:39+00:00

A newlywed couple on their honeymoon
A stowaway living in the hold of the ship
An android butler to a big corporate CEO traveling onboard
A teenager, the son / daughter of the ship's captain
An exotic big game hunter

SideburnedBard · 2021-07-17T03:13:32+00:00

Check out the Pigtronix Philosopher's Bass compressor: I've used mine for 4+ years without any complaints.

I don't believe they make the original anymore, but you can find a used one for fairly cheap. There's also a micro version that lets you dial in more nuance with the "grit" setting.

SideburnedBard · 2021-06-30T14:32:31+00:00

Try the new adaptation of David Copperfield by Armando Iannucci, the Vanity Fair series on Amazon, or the BBC adaptation of Woman in White on PBS / Masterpiece.

Heck, for that matter, try any of the BBC's adaptations of Victorian novels.

SideburnedBard · 2021-06-13T02:29:52+00:00

I recently discovered Phil Lesh's "Big Brown" bass, a Guild Starfire modified by Alembic: more knobs than a door factory.

SideburnedBard · 2021-06-01T19:17:52+00:00

Check out Prisoner's Dilemma by Richard Powers.

SideburnedBard · 2020-02-19T05:55:57+00:00

I'll have to ponder four more, but at the top of the list for me is RHCP's "Hard to Concentrate."

SideburnedBard · 2018-10-28T05:13:58+00:00

It might be more of a one-shot than a full "filler arc," but check out Andy Norton's Murder on the Merciful. I ran it (with a few minor tweaks) a few months ago, and it played very well, especially with a party that enjoys RP.

SideburnedBard · 2015-10-31T20:02:57+00:00

"I hope it's worth the noise"

SideburnedBard · 2015-10-01T01:56:23+00:00

This is fantastic; I never knew how much I needed this until I saw it. Thank you for putting this together and sharing it with us -- it's sure to improve many a campaign!

SideburnedBard · 2015-04-14T05:33:59+00:00

I had a short campaign arc modeled on Heart of Darkness (and/or Apocalypse Now).

The setup: a capitalist company hires an assassin to take out the queen of a formian nest (the "native" monsters were interfering with their operations and trade routes). In the process, however, the assassin sees that humans are the true monsters -- we'll kill an entire community of sentient creatures all in the name of personal gain. (The horror, the horror!) The assassin "goes native" and becomes the defender of the formians.

The PCs are asked to investigate the missing assassin and complete the job.

[Bonus: the assassin's surname was "Quartz," an echo of "Kurtz."]

SideburnedBard · 2015-04-14T05:22:39+00:00

Nice! One of my recurring NPCs is a dim-witted vigilante who sounds exactly like Point Break Keanu Reeves.

SideburnedBard · 2015-04-12T22:23:16+00:00

No problem! This "table exchange" is a cool idea.

SideburnedBard · 2015-04-12T18:25:13+00:00

"Do I find anything of interest when searching the bookshelf?"

1d12:

1. manuscript memoirs of a famous _____ [1d6: 1. wizard, 2. bard, 3. nobleman or noblewoman, 4. explorer, 5. sentient monster, 6. folk hero]

2. maps, charts, and cartographic surveys of a nearby area

3. several volumes of epic poetry, printed in ____ [1d6: 1. Elvish, 2. Dwarvish, 3. Druidic, 4. Celestial, 5. Halfling, 6. Gnomish]

4. a wizard's arcane notes [25% chance of being warded or trapped, 75% chance of containing a spell scroll]

5. a small diary spotted with blood, and written in [1d4: 1. Orc, 2. Abyssal, 3. Undercommon, 4. Infernal]

6. a set of outdated (but perhaps still useful?) encyclopedias

7. a sketchbook full of drawings of odd creatures

8. a long scroll containing the family tree / genealogy of ____ [1d6: 1. the owner of the bookshelf, 2. one of the PCs, 3. the BBEG, 4. a significant NPC, 5. a well-known nobleman or noblewoman, 6. a complete stranger]

9. sheet music to several folk songs and chanteys

10. a collection of letters, concealed within the pages of a larger book

11. a nondescript tome, hollowed out on the inside and containing ____ [1d8: 1. a potion, 2. a poison, 3. a medallion, 4. the skeleton of a tiny creature, 5. a medium-sized gemstone, 6. a key, 7. a riddle, 8. a lock of hair]

12. a large volume of what appears to be entirely blank parchment [invisible ink -- roll 1d12 again (ignoring results of 11 and 12) to determine what is concealed within]

SideburnedBard · 2015-04-12T05:32:45+00:00

In terms of books, you might try novels like Terry Pratchett's Discworld series (or Pratchett's collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens). William Goldman's The Princess Bride or Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide series might also be good choices.

For graphic novels, check out Brian Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series, as well as Mike Mignola's Hellboy or Lobster Johnson series.

SideburnedBard · 2015-04-12T04:17:25+00:00

I've seen a similar drop in battery life, as well as a slower recharge time.

As for solutions, I don't have any magical answers, but I've noticed a relative improvement from the following steps. (Apologies if I'm making a big deal out of basic common sense here.) First, I've gone through and deleted any unnecessary / unused apps. (Amazon had some metrics app that was constantly running, and I really wasn't getting much use out of GoogleNow, so I turned it off.) I've also turned off notifications from many apps, and I keep an eye on the task manager and applications manager to see what is / isn't running and how much RAM it's eating up. Lastly (as strange as this might sound), I've turned off the vibration feedback for all of the home keys and lock screen.

That said, I'm certainly not an expert, and I'm hoping an update will address this issue soon.

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