tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post1047249819413187165..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: CoolAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-42187374666303123522018-12-07T07:00:37.805-07:002018-12-07T07:00:37.805-07:00"Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Bills Gates aren&#..."Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Bills Gates aren't 'nerds.' They're businessmen. you just want them to be nerds."<br /><br />The truth hurts . . .<br /><br />Certainly, there are some very famous and successful personalities who can identify as nerds. But their fame and success is tied to their chosen field which is not necessarily "nerdy." Neil Gaiman is known for his fantasy fiction and comic books, but he's just as well-known (if not moreso) because he's a good writer, with a few works that adapted well to cinema. Patrick Rothfuss is known as a "famous nerd," though again, he's a good writer and he runs a charity, mostly off the fame of his persona.<br /><br />But here's the thing: much as I love their work, I'm willing to bet that easily 99 out of 100 persons don't know who they are. If you say, "You know, the guy who wrote Coraline," then more people will go, "Oh yeah, I saw that movie. It was fun," but they won't know anything about the author, himself.<br /><br />It's especially telling that, try as I might, I can't think of another name . . . George R.R. Martin? I guess we could group him in this category, being a fantasy fiction author, but again his fame is due to the adaptation of his work to television. Had that not happened, he'd be relatively famous in his chosen field, to be sure, but not nearly at Jeff Bezos' or Bill Gates' level of notoriety.Ozymandiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065642299277380465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-28337423099898824472018-12-04T17:48:13.676-07:002018-12-04T17:48:13.676-07:00The Mac's convenience store near my work has a...The Mac's convenience store near my work has a sign on the wall, "Colder than frozen," and earlier today a co-worker asked, "How is that possible?"<br /><br />"Through the magic of marketing," I said. Because in marketing, everything is possible ... and probable, if someone, somewhere, believes it will create buzz.<br /><br /><a href="https://investor.hasbro.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hasbro-reports-third-quarter-2018-financial-results" rel="nofollow">Hasbro is in trouble</a>. They've been sliding since the demise of Toys 'R Us and 2018 has been particularly troublesome for the country. So they're busy reaching for every straw available ...<br /><br />Cue a rise in interest among a few game stores in large cities, the success of Critical Role and a generally favorable reaction to the Adventurers' League.<br /><br />I've argued an implosion would be a good thing for a long time. I may live to see it.<br />Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-90144402385395242332018-12-04T11:18:03.697-07:002018-12-04T11:18:03.697-07:00This post (and your last one) put a big ol' sm...This post (and your last one) put a big ol' smile on my face. Thanks for that.<br />: )<br /><br />I wonder how much of Hasbro/WotC's touted success really is genuine and how much is just puffery (is that a word?). Clearly they've been making a lot of sales, and marketing the hell out of the fact that their product is "cool" (popular), attempting to create buzz to drive more sales. But is the game they're selling truly achieving what they say they're achieving? Or are folks simply buying the game because of the momentary "buzz" and then letting it gather dust?<br /><br />I find myself somewhat afraid that they (the Corporate Overlords) are creating a bubble that is doomed to explode (implode?) at some point.<br /><br />I say "somewhat" because it's possible such an implosion might be a good thing...and anyway it won't affect me or my gaming (such as it is) all that much regardless.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for the smiles.<br />: )JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.com