What's In a Name?

I play tabletop wargames. I didn't always play them. In fact, there was a point in my life where such an activity never once entered the faintest corners of my imagination. Nevertheless, I do now, and like many things in the life of a young man the story of how I picked it up started with a girl.

During first half of the first decade of the new millennium, I met said girl.

Like 9 out of 10 stories in today's dating world, this one didn't end all that well. Don't worry, though. This isn't a story about a girl.

That said, the departure of this girl led to a consolation party thrown by a friend, which led to making a new friend, which led to a fortuitous Friday night visit to the house of one of THAT fellow's friends. This guy, the homeowner, was named Joe.

Still with me?

There, I was reintroduced to a game I'd played in my teens called Warhammer 40,000, produced by Games Workshop. I was also introduced to Whiskey, which until then had not been one of my beverages of choice. I'd always been a beer guy. I still am a beer guy, actually, but that's not what's important. What's important is that now I'm a whiskey guy too. A Whiskey & 40k guy.

You see, now the title of this post makes sense. So, too, does the title of this blog. I was amazingly subtle about delivering it, no?

Since that fortuitous Friday night, I've made and seen pass many a friend, including the one who threw my long-forgotten consolation party, and including the one who introduced me to Friday nights at Joe's for Whiskey & 40k. Nevertheless, Joe fast became and remains one of my closest friends, and it's because of Friday nights at Joe's that I'm writing this blog. Which, of course, means this blog is very indirectly about a girl.



So, to the meat of things.

This blog will be rambling, and generally unimportant. There will be, however, a few consistent and oft-repeated themes.

1) Warhammer 40,000. It is this subject that I will use to bring you people back from time to time. Rumor amalgamations, links to threads in various forums and blogs that I find interesting on a given day, and of course (as it wouldn't be a blog without it) my thoughts about the game of Warhammer 40k.

2) Alcohol. Note that I am neither a drunk, nor an alcoholic. I do, however, possess an enormous appreciation and palette for some of the world's most revered and ancient beverages, most especially beer. I'll recommend beers on a near-weekly or more than weekly basis, will share my stories of fantastic places to try said beverages, and will ramble about them from time to time if I try something truly fantastic.

3) Tabletop wargaming and hobbying in general. I don't *only* play Warhammer 40k.

4) The NOVA Open - my very own tabletop wargaming tournament. This year will be the first formal year of the Open, it will be a Games Workshop Independent National Circuit Qualifier (aka the top finishers will get invitations to national championships in Las Vegas), and will be a bear to plan. I hope whatever visitors I can rustle up for the site will help me with planning and detailing out some of the components of the event.

5) Ramble ramble. I will no doubt have some other recurring themes, I just don't know what they are yet.



A quick caveat on me; I think that people who utilize Blogs to self-podium their own amazing sense of the game of 40k, or games in general, are kinda douchey. It's not personal, and they probably aren't really douches, but it's a simple, non-professionalized game. It's not a sport, it's not a hobby that people compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars with. I'll no doubt share my own opinions on it frequently, and give advice about how to play it, etc. This is based purely off the fortune of only having lost a couple of games of it over the course of the past thousand or so games. Since it is a dice-based game, and since I don't travel the country playing the best of the best, I'm aware of the fact that my opinion is only that - a simple opinion. So is everybody else's.

I would compare myself to some of the other strong-opinioned "internet tough guys" of the 40k world out there, only less of a condescending asshat. I would, but I won't, b/c that would just make me another condescending asshat.

Anyway, enjoy!