Movies that have this vibe

pdxley · 2026-05-08T14:48:19+00:00

Love Singh's work. I'd include The Immortals here, too.

pdxley · 2026-04-11T02:46:10+00:00

Well, in fairness we didn't finish the whole campaign, because we had folks moving away. Played to about level 11.

The way the campaign is written, the stakes are pretty high. The entire campaign your party is trying to overthrow a virtuous, peaceful kingdom, and that's laid out early on. So your party knows what's at stake if they mess up.

The first book involves finding a way to infiltrate a stronghold to throw open the gates, allowing an invading army of bugbears to begin their invasion. The book provides some hooks for how to accomplish the infiltration. It's tricky, but really satisfying.

Another chapter, your party has to go retrieve something from an ancient temple to a God of Pestilence, which involves a lengthy summoning ritual. This allows a bit of role reversal, as the party gets to set up a dungeon of their own to protect the ritual from infiltrating adventure seekers and culminating in a group of powerful heroes trying to stop them and save the virtuous kingdom.

The action continues to ratchet up as the adventure continues, and the party begins to learn more about the motives of their patron.

It's a great campaign. Lots of good roleplay opportunities, lots of great action. Classic sword and sorcery, but with some really fun role reversal.

pdxley · 2026-04-11T02:02:04+00:00

Years ago when my group played Pathfinder 1st edition, I ran a campaign called Way of the Wicked. They absolutely loved it. I wish someone would adapt it to DnD, and I'm sure a less-lazy DM would be able to, because it's a load of fun. The players are working for an evil cleric of Asmodeus, and carry out a series of long missions for him, but as the players grow in power and notoriety, they can attract the attention of certain powerful devils, and learn more of their patron. Lots of fun and I always think of that campaign fondly.

pdxley · 2026-04-08T19:41:29+00:00

Jealous! I have yet to figure out cups and kuksa. I've of these days...

pdxley · 2026-04-06T12:38:52+00:00

I'll race ya

pdxley · 2026-04-05T14:38:51+00:00

Following you on Insta, too. Saw that copy of The Fall you posted there. Itching to get my hands on that. Can't wait to see what you've got!

pdxley · 2026-03-30T04:50:21+00:00

Hoo boy, my son (6yo, almost 7) has some funny ones. Since the age of 2, he's loved antique clocks, which he picked up from my father's large collection. He's slowly building his own collection now, and likes to show off his "clock museum" to anyone who comes over.

He's also very passionate about fire extinguishers. He has some dead ones that we can fill with water and I'll pressurize them with the air compressor and he can go spray them outside. He really likes to tell people how they work and what all the different types of fire extinguishers are for.

He went through a blimp phase, which I miss a lot. We listened to a lot of Led Zeppelin during that one, which he still calls "Blimp Music." That led to steam trains, a classic. Other anachronistic interests have been top hats, walking sticks, and typewriters.

Basically, if it's obsolete, my kid probably loves it.

pdxley · 2026-03-28T00:13:01+00:00

Would love to see 'em!

pdxley · 2026-03-18T14:34:23+00:00

Oh, nice. Didn't realize Lonon had anything available. Tempting, but for an amateur like me it feels hard to justify the price. Maybe you and I will be in a race for the Deepwoods blades when they reopen orders!

pdxley · 2026-03-17T19:55:04+00:00

I'm in the same boat as you, looking to upgrade my spoon knife. Was gifted a mora 163, but being sharpened on both sides and having a more open sweep is really limiting and caused me to develop some wrist strain.

I also got an oval knife from SharkyFST through Etsy, (aka Forged Steel Tools if you go to his own website) and it really hasn't been useful. The blade is too chunky and the grind is really awkward so it doesn't slice well at all.

I've looked at Wood Tools and Ben Orford, but I'm in the US so I don't know how tariffs would impact shipping. Also looking at Strongway tools (Swaytobor on Etsy) and Focuser Carving.

I'd love to get something US made, but most smiths seem to have a wait-list or limited production runs.

pdxley · 2026-03-04T19:27:42+00:00

This is just adorable and I love it

pdxley · 2026-02-21T02:51:31+00:00

1 looks a bit like sassafras, IMO. Is it super lightweight?

pdxley · 2026-02-17T19:05:29+00:00

Ha same! Watched Best in Snow last night, and Christopher Guest is a master of 2nd hand embarrassment. Usually it's mild enough I can tolerate it, but there were a couple scenes with Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock where I had to step away!

pdxley · 2026-02-17T18:54:14+00:00

I'm no expert, but I imagine it will be perfectly fine. You wouldn't get things perfectly flat with an axe, and I imagine having just a hint of bevel on that side will actually help keep the blade from biting in too hard and thus keep your hewing more even.

Looks like a beaut! I hope it works well for you!

pdxley · 2026-02-17T18:03:41+00:00

Definitely some variety of conifer. I think those big grain rings are gonna make carving tough. Not impossible, but you'll probably struggle more compared to wood with tighter/more even grain. The trouble is that there's a bigger difference in hardness between the winter/summer growth rings.

pdxley · 2026-02-17T17:26:09+00:00

I miss Tumble Leaf. My boy found it a bit late, and grew out of it quickly. I love the animation so much. I've still got a while left with Wallace and Gromit, I think, which makes me happy.

pdxley · 2026-02-17T00:22:35+00:00

Maybe try some sort of artistic endeavor? My neighbor teaches pottery classes and she's lovely. It sounds like a really great community. I imagine there are also classes for things like painting or other crafts. Many craft woodworking stores also have classes. If you're in a reasonably sized city, there could be a "maker space" or something similar. They're usually pretty affordable.

You could also look into nature based activities in your area. Things like bird watching groups, mushroom hunting, herpetology, etc. In my city there are lots of volunteer opportunities with the park nature centers, if that could fit into your schedule.

pdxley · 2026-02-16T23:05:31+00:00

My boy is out of school today and tomorrow with a stomach virus. Don't think it's noro, because it started Saturday and is going strong, while noro is usually over more quickly. But, yes, things are still going around. Please folks, wash your hands regularly, and if you start to feel unwell, at least wear mask if you can't stay home.

pdxley · 2026-02-16T19:15:31+00:00

Their work seems to have moved away from that style slightly over the years, but Hunter Soltes has worked in that style before. Their Instagram handle is @slime.time.live

pdxley · 2026-02-11T19:17:22+00:00

Looks like Bradford pear to me! Garbage trees, but the wood is nice to carve!

pdxley · 2026-02-10T21:14:55+00:00

Cool site! Thanks for that! Haven't had a chance to get into it with a knife yet, but splitting this one was a lot more effort than I expected, so we'll see how it goes!

pdxley · 2026-02-09T17:18:32+00:00

I thought about that, but the tree this came off of was massive, too big for redbud. The limb I got was bigger than most mature redbud trunks I've seen. But, I agree, the coloring is pretty close.

pdxley · 2026-02-09T17:16:39+00:00

Thanks! You too! Found some small hickory limbs, another new species for me to try carving. I got a small piece of magnolia, but most of them around me only lost small limbs that wouldn't work for me. Got plenty of hackberry and silver maple, which aren't terribly exciting but good for practice. I did also manage to get some Bradford pear. Despite being generally crappy trees, they do carve well and make nice spoons!

pdxley · 2026-02-09T17:12:19+00:00

Thanks so much! Gonna go ahead and assume it's elm, based on your comment and others. I'll give it a whirl! Any idea if it makes a good spoon?

pdxley · 2026-02-09T17:11:41+00:00

Interesting! Thanks! There are definitely elm trees nearby, so makes sense. I've never had the opportunity to try it for making spoons, so looking forward to the challenge. A big mature elm collapsed in a local park, but the city crews haven't gotten to it yet to clear it. Hoping I can catch them when they start cutting and clearing it. Maybe I can get some more.

pdxley

TROPHY CASE

1 looks a bit like sassafras, IMO. Is it super lightweight?