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| Xeogaming Forums - High Scores - INTERVIEW: Elara |
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance         Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 669 days Last activity: 477 days |
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| With Xeo's interview just about wrapped and it being Friday that means it's Elara's turn!
Just a reminder for those who haven't signed up yet, but if you're interested there's a thread open here. Hey, Elara! First off, lay down some foundation for us and tell us about yourself. You don't have to write a Bible like Xeo did.  |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable  Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 135 days Last activity: 135 days |
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| Aww, but that would be such fun!!! *pouts*
Seriously though... uh... let's see. Well, I've been here forever, it seems. I think it was super late 2003 or early 2004 that I first joined Vizzed (back when it was still a full acmlm board), and it was shortly afterwards that the mysterious figure known as MasterSephiroth invited me to join his board, Masters of Darkness. I did, MoD became Xeogaming, we got hacked a few times, and I finally made Admin. Aside from the board life, I'm your average nerd, I suppose. I am a historian, or at least my BA lets me say that, and I am working on a Masters in Education currently. I grew up in sunny southern California, and now live in BFE western Pennsylvania... I get asked why I moved all the time by the locals, who seem completely baffled. Sometimes, I agree with them. But having seasons is nice. I'm engaged to a guy named Ben, I have to very stupid but adorable cats, and I am obsessed with writing and playing rpgs. Oh... I like metal, I'm a witch, and rather liberal in my thinking. That covers most of the bases, I think. |
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 669 days Last activity: 477 days |
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| So being someone who was born and raised in California, what's it been like to trek across the country and take up residence in another state? | |||
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 135 days Last activity: 135 days |
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| It has been interesting and stressful at the same time.
On the one hand, I love how green everything here is, and I love LOVE the seasons (fall is so pretty). Cost of everything except food is lower as well, and I don't have to pay for water as a utility (for now, we have a drought as well so that might change). What I don't like though, is the distance from my friends and family.... I miss being able to go hang out with people, and there are so many things that others have got to do that I wish I could have joined in. I also miss my free-time that I had while living in California... I worked maybe 22-24 hours a week and made more there than I do working 37-40 hours here. That bothers me. A lot. The other stuff that gets me is that yeah, it's all pretty and green here but everything is SO far away! Until last month, I had to drive nearly an hour to find a Starbucks! And everything closes here early... nothing but the 24 hr places and bars are open past 8pm once school starts up for the most part. And the people! You've seen me bitch about the people here in other threads so I will spare the details... let it suffice to say that it seems a stark 50/50 split between super nice people and the most self-centered, self-serving douchebags in the country. No middle ground. I don't get it. It is also bizzare to live in the conservative part of the state (the rural part) because I constantly fear showing my liberalness lest I be attacked. It is an irrational fear, but it is hard to not give in when you have one of your coworkers show up every day bedecked in rebel flags. One thing I do give Pennsylvania though, is that they have a WAY better Dept of Transportation than California's DMV... they separated all registration and stuff from licensing centers and the result is no super long lines, even on the busiest day. |
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 669 days Last activity: 477 days |
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| And you've been studying history, not to mention going to school for it again for your master's. What draws you to history as a fascination? | |||
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 135 days Last activity: 135 days |
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| Well, at the moment I am taking education classes so I can teach history... which is not nearly as fun.
What draws me to history... it is kinda hard to put into words. I've always been interested in the past, in how people lived their lives, what they found important, what drove them, and how that has impacted us today. I think it really started in 6th grade when we studied Ancient Egypt and I became obsessed with the hieroglyphs. Until I got to college, they only grazed over Greece and Rome so I didn't get as interested in them until later (ironic, yes?) and for years it was Egypt, Middle Age Europe, Renaissance Europe, Feudal Japan, and the Wild West. Once I got to college level classes and I got to actually learn more about Greece and Rome they became my primary focus because I found so many connections with our own history... I think I've mentioned before how the parallels between American and the Roman Empire creep me out. But yeah... I follow the cyclical school of history, which is where the quote "Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it" comes from... and I fully believe it. There is so much that we can learn as a society from history, but people just do not care about the facts because of how it is taught in our schools... and that is a shame. It really is more important to know WHAT happened and WHY rather than just memorizing names and dates. |
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 669 days Last activity: 477 days |
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| Regarding the likenesses between America and ancient Rome, Phil (the former third guy from Sound & Fury) theorized that like the Romans' use of lead for their pipes and cookware, what seemingly harmless thing that shall contribute to the fall of our empire will be cellphones. Well, the jury's still out on whether they cause tumors or not.
Anyway, you were saying that moving to Pennsylvania has made you more politically-minded, and you've noticed the connections with this fallen empire. Why do you lean left? (Last edited by Rogue on 09-09-12 06:48 PM) |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 135 days Last activity: 135 days |
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| I suppose it is a combination of many things. I grew up in a democratic family, and my dad was a union member, so I saw a lot of the good that unions did for us. When I got older and could think independently, I still leaned left because of my own values... I believe in equality, and the necessity of change to achieve it if it is needed, and the left side of the spectrum tended to agree with that. I have obvious biases since I'm female... at least they should be obvious... and again, the right tends to go against those ideas. And lastly, I think the whole bot being Christian thing makes it hard for me to side with the rightist arguments when they frequently use the Bible as their primary source of inspiration. I mean, it's good that they have their believes and can practice them... but don't force them on other people. | |||
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 669 days Last activity: 477 days |
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| As a witch tell me your thoughts on the situation in Ghana. | |||
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 135 days Last activity: 135 days |
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| I find it heartbreaking that such things still exist in modern society. It sounds like the Witch Trials of 17th century Europe and America... but with a more ironic form of trail (a chicken?). I wish the group all the luck in the world in their efforts to shut those camps down, because they are going to need it. Shifting the views of people is never easy, and it is never quick. | |||
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 669 days Last activity: 477 days |
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| About their trial method: Right? And you get sent to the camps either way? So this chicken died for no reason at all. Does anyone even eat it afterward or would they think because it was involved in a witch trial it would be bad luck in some way?
I'm not a vegetarian, but I believe nothing should ever die just because. But this isn't about me... 
What's the worst book you've ever had to read for a class and why? (Last edited by Rogue on 09-10-12 03:01 PM) |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 135 days Last activity: 135 days |
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| Non-textbook?
I think that is a bit of a toss-up... I could get very nitpickey over books I've had to read for my history classes, and it would probably bore the pixels off your monitor... so I will narrow it to the two books that were the bane of my Methodology class:The History of Sexuality by Michel Foucault and the essay on Economics in the Marx/Engels Reader. Both were particularly frustrating... I still think I hate Foucault more though. He just projected the "I'm an arrogant Frenchman" stereotype and it bugged the hell out of me (apparently, you either love Foucault or hate him with unbridled passion) |
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 669 days Last activity: 477 days |
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| I'm, oddly enough, more in the love camp for Foucault, mostly since he's one of the major philosophers we read about frequently in American studies. I'd totally fag hag around with him while talking about how power is cyclical.
All right, so let's talk gaming... any good stories? |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 135 days Last activity: 135 days |
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| Like I said, for me it was more his style that irked me. I totally agree with the idea of power being cyclical. That is pretty much the only part that stuck with me.
Heh, good gaming stories. Well, I have a more recent one that is rather amusing. I started running a Pathfinder game a few months ago (Pathfinder is a system put out by Paizo Publishing after Wizards of the Coast gave them the boot from writing the Dragon and Dungeon magazines and then put out 4th Edition and ruined D&D). My group consists of Ben, and a bunch of total newbies that wanted to learn to play. At the time, we had the following members and their characters: Ben: Playing Sakevras, a tiefling alchemist who loves throwing bombs because that is what alchemists do. Aarron: Playing Dante, a half-elf paladin of Sarenrae (goddess of the sun and healing), who fled from his noble family to fight evil. Not very paladiny, kinda a naive wimp. Darin: Playing Talek, a half-elf rogue who was born into the barbarian tribes of the Mammoth Lords and was then captured by orcs before escaping. Kinda racist, very roguish, but also tends to act foolishly and goes first all the time... most prone to dying. Mike: Playing Varg, a human fighter. Not there half the time, doesn't talk much, and slowest to learn. Likes to throw his warhammer. Bret: Playing Sev, a tengu (raven person) ranger. Paranoid, aggressive, wannabe Mandalorian (yes, Boba Fett Mandalorian)... constantly two steps away from becoming chaotic evil. So I was running an adventure which took them to this backwater town on a quest to do two things: find a tax collector that has gone missing and collect the taxes that he was supposed to get. Now, the town, which easily triggers the banjo music from Deliverance, has a cult that worships Ghalunder, the god of pestilence, while pretending they are faithful to Desna, the goddess of dreams. They knew that the images of Desna were very strange, but none of them really figured it all out despite the townsfolk keeping stirges for pets (think giant four-winged mosquitos) and eating really strange shit at the feast they were invited to. So yeah, all of that goes down, and come nightfall the bulk of the group decides to look up the town history while the townsfolk are completing their little "Desna" feast activities... namely the non-cult members taking an herb called flayleaf that gives them hallucinogenic dreams and knocks them out all night, while the cultists plan to make a sacrifice to keep the town's crops from failing. All of this, the group is ignorant of. So the number one rule that was taught to the newbies was that you never split the party. Ever. What does Bret do? He decides to spend the feast and the night in a tree on the edge of town because he doesn't trust the mayor. The rest of the party is in the mayor's house, because there is no inn and that is where they were offered lodging. So when the cultists go looking for a party member to sacrifice, guess who just made their job easier? So Sev, Bret's character is attacked by three cultists (a girl that was supposed to be the sacrifice, and her parents, who are hoping to find a replacement), and four striges. Now, the thing about stirges is that they don't do normal damage... they lower your Constitution score as they suck the blood from you. Bret did the smart thing and started running across the town towards the mayor's house, screaming for help... but it still took a long time to get there, and his only bit of luck was that he was faster than the cultists. He ended up with 4 Con by the time the party finally heard him screaming and saved him... at Con 0, you are dead. And they were level 3, so no one had the healing spell to bring his Con back. So he had to go the rest of the adventure with 4 Con. Thus the party learned well the lesson of why you NEVER split the party. Oh... and the bomb-throwing alchemist? He turned the parents into red mist before the girl's eyes, at which point she gave up, begged for mercy and spilled the truth to the whole party. |
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 669 days Last activity: 477 days |
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| Nice.
So how's your writing going? |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 135 days Last activity: 135 days |
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| Well, I have at least one and possible two short stories getting published in the Pathfinder Anthology Vol. 2 (a collection of fanfiction)... not sure of the actual publication date since the editor decided to take extra long in making sure all the pieces were "as professional as possible".
Everything else is kind of at a standstill because of school and work dominating my time. |
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 669 days Last activity: 477 days |
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| If you could have any food or drink from a particular work of fiction, what would it be and why? | |||
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 135 days Last activity: 135 days |
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| Oh, that is a tough one.
Drink... probably butterbear from Harry Potter... I just want to see how it tastes. Food... oh, that is almost impossible to choose. Maybe roasted aurochs from GoT. |
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 669 days Last activity: 477 days |
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| Yeah, butterbeer's been on my list since "Prisoner of Azkaban" came out. Fox claims they have the recipe. I've made my own batch before, but I prefer just picking up a few bottles of Flying Cauldron Non-Alcoholic Butterscotch Beer since I'm so lazy.
I've also always wanted to try garlic butter mushrumps from "Stardust" and that drink from "Hitchhiker's Guide" that tastes like having "your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick." So what would you say is the most rewarding thing about cat ownership? |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 135 days Last activity: 135 days |
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| Side note... I also want to try the drink from Hitchhiker's. Also, rachtachino (spelling?) from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
The most rewarding thing... I think that would be the amusement. I can be feeling like utter crap, but all they half to do is meow over being king of the bathtub or fall off the counter and I laugh and smile. Also, the cuddles... or waking up to find them curled up on my legs or next to me. It is so cute, and it makes up for a lot the destruction they do. |
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