We started playing Magic again.

     It might be the biggest mistake I have ever made.

     It gets in the way of me doing my artwork, so I don't know if this will be a good idea.

     Wish me luck.

* * *

     You know, the idea of playing Magic in a bar is great.
     People ask us questions, and they are usually dumb questions that we have to answer over and over again to people.
     "What are you guys doing?  Is that Tarot?"
    
     "Why do you have dice and coins?"

     "Are you gambling?"

     "Why are you playing if not for money?"

     We've heard them all.  We try to be polite, but it doesn't always work.

     The simple answer I give is "It's a Dungeons & Dragons card game".  Then sometimes I have to explain what D & D is.

     One of the players likes to talk a lot, so sometimes he'll allow the game to be completely interrupted while he tells some long-winded explanation which they don't understand anyhow.

     Yeah, it is hard to make art when you are playing Magic. 

     One of the players, the one who talks a lot, takes his time on his turns.  I don't have all day, especially to play a teen-age goon card game.

     If you are going to play, then play, and don't ruin my rhythm, man.  It puts me to sleep sometimes waiting for his turn to end.

     Then we have 'discussions' about the game while we are smoking a cigarette.  I don't like to talk about the technical aspects of the game.  It is so goddamn boring.

     A couple of mentions about a cool mechanic that a card does is fine, but I don't like to over-analyze MTG.  It is already a time-waster game as it is.

MTG Stoppage

     This guy I played MTG with for years was in the bar the other night.
     "When are we going to start it up again?" he asked.
     "Well, when I find a legitimate place to live, and when I sell enough art so I don't have to worry financially about what I'm doing with my time, and when I feel that playing Magic isn't more work than an actual job."
     Playing Magic with him is exhausting.
     I wanted to play some cards, not be a therapist.

     He eventually slammed his fist down on the table as a jovial kind of gesture to imply that he wanted to play, but I don't care. 
     I have real life issues that need addressing.

     I gave Magic ten years, and not much changed for me, playing it on Sundays once a week.

     I still like the game, and I like the cards, but I have other priorities right now.

    

     Eventually I will get back to Magic Online.
    
     Recently, I was able to make more room on my computer's hard drive, so I think it can handle some serious downloads of material from video games again.  I am pretty happy about this.

     Tonight, would normally be the manual gathering of 'Magic', but I am done.  I would rather use my time better, and make and sell art.

     Playing Magic has not produced one penny of income for me, though, god knows I have pumped money into the game.

     There was a guy about a month ago that we met, and he said he wanted to show up and start playing, but he never showed up.  He was another one of those guys who was all talk and no action.  I can't tell you how tired I am of those kind of people.  I used to be one of those people, and it sucked the big one being me, so I changed.

     The appeal of Magic to me is the metaphorical implications.  Talk about the mechanics of the game bores the living hell out of me, which is what my last partner did.  He damn well caved my head in to the point where I didn't want to play anymore.  Besides, I was bleeping sick of his 'destroy all lands' card, which is one of the most unfun cards in existence.

     So, I am not done with Magic, not by any means.  I still like the game itself, the cards, the flavor text, and the illustrations.  I also like making my own cards, and personalizing them.  It is a lot of fun.

     For anybody reading this, thank you for your time.

     Someday I may get more serious about this blog, or I might not.  It is unknown at this juncture in time.

Twenty-Six New Subscribers?

     Funny enough, I received an email saying that I had twenty-six new followers on this blog.  I find that hard to believe, especially since it says I only have one follower.
     Anyway, that is what the email said, from some company someone had started.

     As far as MTG goes, we started playing again.  It lasted five weeks.  We played once a week.  I won four out of five of those weeks.
     During our last session I stated, "I don't enjoy playing this anymore."
     "Well, maybe you should stop playing then," my partner replied.

     He hasn't shown up since, and I am glad he hasn't.

     I am an artist, and I just want to make art. 

     Playing a card game, listening to somebody's therapy did not carry any appeal to me anymore.

     I showed him that I could win most of the time.  He never changed his deck or approach to meet the onslaught of my deck towards him.  That is why he lost.

     Yes, playing had become no fun.

     I had other things on my mind.

    

     Funny enough, but I quit playing MTG recently.  I have better things to do with my life.
     What happened is that playing 'Magic The Gathering' became more work than my real job, coupled with twice as much stress.
     It stopped being fun for me, so I quit.

     At the very least, I am 'semi-retired' from MTG.
     Everything is on hold for now, until I figure out what I want to do.

     I just got sick of games being dragged out for an hour.
     Who in hell has that kind of time?
     And for what?
     Bragging rights?

     Ugh....more on all this later.

Minus Touch, Midas Touch, and Death Touch

     I've got to hear Pat Boone's 'In a Metal Mood' that came out in 1997.  It was his most successful album in thirty-five years.
     You see, Pat and Ozzy were next door neighbors, and Pat kind of got into what Ozzy was doing.  So that is how that happened.

     'Minus Touch' was misheard by my friend when I said, "Midas Touch".  It is pretty good.  He said often good ideas come from misheard sayings interpreted different than intended.
     'Minus Touch' is the equivalent of 'Wither'.

     Anyway, it all started with thinking about 'Midas Touch', and how I need that card in real life.  I need to make that card, so that the Magic can flow.  That is what I am trying to do with this blog is to make the bridge from the real and the magic world more possible.  I've got to turn it from a rope bridge that is difficult to cross into a super highway with lots of traffic to help get my life going.

     'Sit Next To Me Intruder' is a card.  It is the guy who sits next to you in the cafe, and gets on his cell phone, and does all kind of little things to annoy you, and he often wears a plaid shirt, and glasses, with headphones in his ears, and it is all really annoying, and it is as if he sucks your energy out.  It is as if his presence is of a human vampire type of energy.  It is not easy to explain, but some people give life, and others take it away.
     It is just how it goes.

     Anyway, it is time for another coffee.  I need to get really caffeinated to make it through the day.  I have a lot of things I have to do today.

     I brought a figurative painting with me to the cafe, just to have something to look at.  I am tired of the photography exhibit that's been up for a month.  I would rather look at my own art than what is up.

     Anyway, there is something that is really similar between art and MTG.  It is the combination of words and visuals that makes it all exciting for me, and gives a context in which to explore.

     There is still improvements that can be made with the flavor text on cards in MTG.  They could be funnier.
     I would imagine it is not easy to get the right combination of visual and text for any Magic card.  They test them out and see what works.  There are a lot of people employed full time just to come up with this stuff.  It is amazing.

     Magic Online helped to keep the game alive.  I haven't played it for a while, but I will have to get back to it at some point.  I used to play it every day, but I have just been really busy.  Plus, I have other problems with my low computer memory before I can update more online games.  It is too complicated to explain, but that is the gist of it.

     Basically, you can make Magic cards out of anything, about anything in your life to make it all work for you.

     The other day I made a Jesus Christ card.  His creature type is that of a 'Human Savior'.  lol.  Tap and all humans are saved.  haha.

     Okay, my time here is approaching an end.  I am not feeling it anymore.  This is the beginning of The End Game.
     My coffee shop sessions have a beginning, middle, and end, just like chess, and just like Magic.

     A new guy just sat down with his lap top.  It looks if he touched me, he would give me a -1/-1, and I ain't kidding.

     Some people touch you, and you feel an energy drain.  It is a real thing.

     A guy last night interrupted our Sunday night Magic game, saying, "HEY, YOU ARE PLAYING MAGIC THE GATHERING...GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE!"
     I told him I don't like to touch people.  I didn't want to take a hit point of damage from him, and be dragged down to his bro-speak level.
     The card for this is called, "Descent Into Mediocrity".
     I am not into lowest common denominator people.  This makes me into an asshole at times, but fuck it.  I don't want the goddamn energy drain.

The Relationship between Magic and The Real World

     Hello, and Greetings.  I am Bauvy.
     My real life name is David Lovins, but that is neither here nor there.  You can look on youtube if you really want to know more about me.  I don't know if it will be worth your time or not.
     Anyways, this blog isn't about how to play the game, it's not about deck building, it's not about anything normally associated with the game of Magic The Gathering.  I'm interested in something else.
     You won't find out how to trounce your opponent here.  You won't learn how to beat your enemy into a pulp by turn 5.  Those kind of things don't interest me much.
     I am more intrigued by The Magic of Magic The Gathering.  I am more interested in Alternate Realities and The Relationship between Real and Fictional Worlds.

     There is something that artist's and musicians use called 'The Midas Touch'.  It is that one little spark of magic they are able to produce that brings in the money.  It is a very subtle thing between 'I am doing something good but I also want to sell'.
     When you are too much about the selling, people get turned off by it, because humans don't like fake and phony stuff.  Though, I guess some people like Mariah Carey...but...ugh and sigh...Okay some people like crap and they buy into the s***.
     But what I am getting at is something more.

     The first time I was introduced to MTG was in 1997.  I didn't know what the hell was going on with it.  No matter how they tried to explain the game to me, I couldn't get it.  I was in another place and time.  Since then, I was critical of the art work, and of the game itself, but then I started to see that, "Hey, the artwork here is pretty good, and keeps getting better."
     My friend Marco The Finn really got me into the game, and I was intrigued after that.  It turned out to be an escape from the real world for an hour or two once a week.
     Mostly, the game is a waste of time, but like therapy, where you don't realize the immediate effects, the long term effects are:  You will waste a lot of time, You will have fun beating your opponents into a pulp, You will find that it sucks to lose, and You Will Know Pain When You Get Your Ass Kicked.

     Anyway, I will explore the world of Magic as I see it.  Most people talk about the mechanics of the game, and that stuff bores me to tears.  I approach the game as an artist with a slight sense of poetic notions is what I am getting at.
     Let's suppose you see a person walking across the street.  That person could be made into a Magic Card.
     Basically what I am saying is that everything you see and experience in this world can be made into a Magic card.
     There is a relationship between this world and The Magic The Gathering World.
     This laptop that I am typing on, well, it is an artifact.  Get it?
     A car is a Goblin Tank.
     There is no end.
     I am starting to see The Birth of Mythology itself by playing this game.  It is all beginning to tie in with my previous interests of Mythology, Dungeons & Dragons, and Medievalism in general.
     Did you know Marcel Duchamp was a medievalist?  A little know fact, but he cared about the foundations of Modern Human Culture, and for that, he had to dig into The Magics of The Past.

     I haven't worked it all out yet.  I am struggling to get all of my ideas down, but that is what I am going to do on this blog.
     I hope it will be a good ride.