Following what seems to be the popular format amongst my friends, * means this was one of my favorite experiences playing a LARP.  % means I particularly disliked playing this game.  Breaking with tradition a bit, I’m going to separate out another mark: @ means I have a rant about this game (positive, negative, neither – this just denotes that I have a lot to say about this one).

Also note: I’ve redacted things that could be possible spoilers, but left them possible to see, by writing them in white-on-white with a black underline, so you can highlight it to see, like this: “Rosebud” was a sled.

2002

• Mont-Saint-Michel (Brandeis) – the cook
• Deep South by Daylight (Brandeis) – don’t remember
• * 6×9: Peripheral Visionaries (Brandeis) – Sumadartson
• @ The Final Voyage of the Mary Celeste (Brandeis) – Lord Thantor
• %@ Broadway’s on the Rocks with a Twist (Brandeis) – The Phantom of the Opera

2003

• Saturday Morning Massacre (Intercon C) – Inspector Gadget
• @ An Evening With Clarence (Intercon C) – Detective Nick Carter
• * Underdog’s Tavern (Intercon C) – Slicer
• Panel: The LARP (Intercon C) – Horde
• * Eye of the Storm (Intercon Gazebo) – a child whose name I don’t remember
• Og: The LARP (Intercon Gazebo) – a caveman
• * Col. Sebastian T. Rawhide’s Circus of the Spectacular (Intercon Gazebo) – Douglas Credenza aka John Bungling
• %@ Star Wars: Only Time Never Stops (Intercon Gazebo) – Thel Shaki
• Giggle (Brandeis) – Purple Tentacle

2004

• * Grimm Tales (Intercon D) – Jack
• * The School for Young Women Specializing in the Arts of Grace and Maidenly Submission (Intercon D) – The Puppet aka Guybrush Threepwood
• City Council of Hound’s Teeth (Intercon D) – Horde

2005

• Michael Clambino’s Poker Night (Intercon E) – the goon
• League of Extraordinary Breakfast Cereals (Intercon E) – Snap (or maybe Crackle or Pop)
• * TBA (Intercon E) – the pilot
• Endgame (Intercon E) – a technician whose name I don’t remember
• @ Etherlines: The Morning After (Brandeis) – I wish I could write down the character’s name, but there are people out there who would stop being my friend over that.
• Perfectly Normal University (Brandeis) – Greg Nevski
• A Night at the Dead Fern Bar (Intercon XX) – Dr. Maynard Weisel
  
• * Tempus Frangit (Intercon XX) – Raventooth
• An Iron GM Game by Deb and Del that I can’t remember the name of, sorry (Intercon XX) – an absolutely flaming man whose name I can’t remember
  

2006

• A crossover game whose name escapes me (Arisia ’06) – Frobozz
• A Question of Faith (Intercon F) – can’t remember
• Divus Ex: Greece (Intercon F) – Dionysus
• * Layover in Santa Calavera (Intercon Z at Intercon F) – horde
• Bughunt (Intercon Z at Intercon F) – team leader
• Succession! (Intercon Z at Intercon F) – can’t remember
• Return to Wonderland (LARP Weekend 2006) – the King
• Welcome to Sunnyvale (LARP Weekend 2006) – Jim Hoover aka God
• League of Extraordinary Breakfast Cereals (Intercon Northeast at Dexcon 9) – can’t remember
• Plan 8 from Outer Space (Intercon Northeast at Dexcon 9) – the QA engineer whose name I could look up if I weren’t a lazy ass
• %@ Wizards (Intercon Northeast at Dexcon 9) – a troll whose name I can’t remember
• Elanthia (Brandeis) – Sir Nathanial Dorian
• 1955: Signals (Intercon XXI) – Charles Lambwright, military advisor
• Smallgreens (Intercon XXI) – can’t remember
  
• % Mahabharata (Intercon XXI) – Karna (should be noted that the % is for a “me” problem and not a game problem, IMO)
  

2007

• Divus Ex: Convocation (Festival 2007) – THOR!!!
• Miskatonic Class Reunion (Festival 2007) – Franklin Dark
• In the Jungle (Playtest, Somerville MA) – can’t remember
• * Grimmer Tales: Arabian Nights (Intercon XXII) – Jack
• And They Were As Gods (Intercon XXII) – Alexander Carpathia aka Jesus
• Masks (Brandeis) – Harry Stein aka Der Flamende Aedler aka Breakeven

2008

• Clue Impaired (Arisia ’08) – Antonio
• *@ 10 Bad Modules in 100 Bad Minutes (Intercon H) – a bunch of characters, including Repentant Sobbing Hitler
• Miskatonic Archaeological Expedition (Festival 2008) – Dr. Armand Pabodie
• Marin County New Age Society Cocktail Party (Festival 2008) – Inspector Mudd
• *@ Torch of Freedom (RPI) – Col. Ignatius Evingast
• Blue Archangel (Intercon XXIII) – Ken Robertson
• * The Road Not Taken (Intercon XXIII) – can’t remember my number, but I had to decide whether to pull the plug on a dying parent
• % Finals (Intercon XXIII) – the janitor

2009

• GM Space (Playtest, Brandeis) – horde
• % A Midsummer Night and the Living is Easy (FestEvil ’09) – Sam Archer
• *@ Lifeline (FestEvil ’09) – Zonk
• Shebopaleleigh (FestEvil ’09) – a troupe member
• * ‘Tis No Deceit to Deceive the Deceiver (Brandeis) – Nathan Windswept
• % Tales of Pendragon (RPI) – Otho
• Martha Stewart’s Guide to Interdimensional Summoning and Basting a Turkey (Brandeis) – Mephisto
• * Shebopaleleigh (SLAW) – an audience member, then a fill-in role for a missing player
• * Bard of Avalon (SLAW) – Hollyhock
• % Chateau Ennui (SLAW) – Sam Petrasewicz
• Paranoia (SLAW) – Fea-R-Less
• Lullaby of Broadway: Episode 2 – Gary Coleman

2010

• 1897: The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (RPI) – Bram Stoker aka Van Hellsing
• Blackout (Intercon J) – Dan Gallagher
• Replaying a Classic: Final Voyages of the Mary Celeste (Intercon J) – Capt. Briggs
• * The Sound of Drums (Intercon J) – Kasimir
• * Oz (V for Vestival) – Jubilation Lott
• % Carry On at Camp David (V for Vestival) – Elvis Priestly
• * Two Hours in London (V for Vestival) – Daniel Alexander

Some Vital Statistics

Games played: 73
Games played at conventions I was helping run: 21
Favorites: 20
Disliked: 9
Strong opinions: 9

Games in which I played screwed characters: 23
Favorite games in which I played screwed characters: 6

Sierra On-Line was certainly the biggest single reason I got into computers and technology.  They pioneered the graphic adventure game genre and published a long string of amazing games throughout the 80′s and 90′s.  Notably, Sierra had a very good (for the computer games industry) gender balance among their high-profile game designers.

This is probably due in no small part to Roberta Williams, who co-founded the company with her husband Ken.  Although Ken ran the business end of the company largely behind the scenes, Roberta was the public face of Sierra and the creative force behind its most successful games, including Mystery House, the King’s Quest series, Phantasmagoria, and the Laura Bow Mysteries.  Without Roberta Williams’ creative vision, the modern graphical adventure game probably would never have existed.

Another of Sierra’s designers was Christy Marx, who wrote the “Conquests” series: Conquests of Camelot, a game about King Arthur, and Conquests of the Longbow, about Robin Hood.  While Marx certainly wasn’t as prolific as a game designer as Williams, her takes on these often-told tales are extremely unique and creative.  The Marx versions don’t shy away from portraying the characters as human beings, and highlight the religious undertones and the historical context of these stories.  The games can be downloaded from her web site. In addition to her work for Sierra, Christy Marx also has designed computer and video games for a variety of other companies.

Lori Ann Cole and her husband Corey created the Quest for Glory series.  These games were unique in their combination of RPG and adventure game elements; while most games attempting to combine these two genres end up resembling an RPG with some puzzles and dialogue trees, QfG plays like an adventure game with stats and combat.  Another innovation in this series is the ability to bring a character from one game to the next, keeping their stats, items and abilities.  The Quest for Glory games combine just the right levels of humor and seriousness, and manage to be challenging without ever becoming tedious.

But probably my favorite game designer of all time is Jane Jensen, creator of the Gabriel Knight mysteries.  Jensen brought a new level of maturity in writing to the computer games field, and tackled difficult, human stories that dealt with themes of the occult and disturbing.  But don’t let that description scare you off: Jensen’s games are universally fast-moving, gripping, and fun.  The Gabriel Knight series, more than perhaps any other out there, makes the case for computer games as literature.  And, I can’t wait to see her upcoming game.

Without the games of Sierra On-Line, I might not be in the technology field today.  Although I didn’t end up working on games for a living, the works of these designers started me down my eventual career path.  Similarly, a lot of my work on LARP has been influenced by these games.  It’s fair to say that they are my technology heroines.

Who are your technology heroines?

1. Rebekah – Cardboard Boxes
2. Beatles – Helter Skelter
3. Liquid Tension Experiment – Freedom of Speech (live)
4. Green Jelly – Green Jelly Theme Song
5. They Might Be Giants – A Self Called Nowhere
6. Yes – Machine Messiah
7. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?
8. Smile.DK – Boys
9. Soular System – If At First You Don’t Succeed
10. Bruce Springsteen – Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
11. Beatnik Turtle – My Way Or The Highway (Theme from Brawl)
12. Steve Miller Band – Fly Like An Eagle
13. Angele Dubeau & La Pieta – Antique Airs and Dances, Suite #1: Gaglianda
14. Jethro Tull – Steel Monkey
15. Ian Anderson – Panama Freighter
16. King Crimson – The Howler
17. Extreme – Song for Love
18. Queen – Friends Will Be Friends
19. Yes – Be The One
20. Tel Aviv – Securities
21. Johnny Fortune – Soul Surfer
22. Apollo 100 – Joy
23. Heart – Kick it Out
24. Marillion – Gazpacho
25. Ian and Sylvia – Short Grass
26. Eagles – Lyin’ Eyes
27. Battlefield Band – The Dear Green Place
28. Liquid Tension Experiment – Kindred Spirits
29. Ramases – Dying Swan Year 2000
30. Doc Watson – Blue Railroad Train
31. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – A Time and a Place
32. David Bowie – Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide
33. Blackmore’s Night – 25 Years
34. Beatles – With A Little Help From My Friends
35. Weavers – The Peekskill Story
36. Jim’s Big Ego – Bon Nuit Tree
37. They Might Be Giants – XTC vs. Adam Ant
38. Napoleon Blown Aparts – Good Night (to the Good Kings)
39. Styx – The Grand Finale
40. Eagles – Best of My Love

#. QUESTION
ANSWER

1. Which song do you prefer, #1 or #40?
#40, but I don’t love either of them

2. Have you ever listened to #12 continuously on repeat?
Probably so.  At least, it seems like a song I might have done that with, since I like it a lot.

3. What album is #26 from?
I have no idea what album it’s originally from, but I have it on a greatest hits compilation.

4. What do you think about the artist who did #15?
He’s definitely one of my favorites, both with and without Jethro Tull.

5. Is #19 one of your favorite songs?
Nope.  It’s not even from one of my favorite Yes albums.

6. Who does #38 remind you of?
Nobody in particular.  It does remind me of “4 Bad LARPs in 40 Bad Minutes,” which is the reason I ended up getting that album – to use it on the soundtrack.

7. Does #20 have better lyrics or music?
I haven’t a clue.  This is one of the songs I got from my brother Sam on a mix CD, and I tend to like about 50% of those, and the other ones stay around in my library but don’t get too much attention.  This is one of the latter half.

8. Do any of your friends like #3?
Yep.  In fact, I got it from my friend Jon, who introduced me to LTE.

9. Is #33 from a movie soundtrack?
No.

10. Is #18 overplayed on the radio?
Yes.  God, yes.

11. What does #21 remind you of?
It’s a surf guitar track.  I used to love the Beach Boys when I was in middle school, so this kind of takes me back there, even though it’s not a Beach Boys song.

12. Which song do you prefer, #5 or #22?
#5.  “Joy” is a fun track, but I wouldn’t really call it a good song.  John Henry, the album #5 is from, is probably my favorite TMBG album – I really don’t hate any track on it, and “A Self Called Nowhere” is one of the better ones.

13. What album is #17 from?
Pornograffiti, the only Extreme album I have.

14. When did you first hear #39?
When I went on my Styx kick senior year, I think.

15. When did you first hear #7?
My brother Sam got me into Ted Leo through one of the aforementioned mix CDs.  I ended up buying the album shortly after that.

16. What genre is #8?
Eurodance.  I have it because it’s on one of the Dance Dance Revolution soundtracks, which is actually where I get most of my Eurodance tracks.

17. Do any of your friends like #14?
Maybe Jon.  I think I’m mostly alone in my group of friends in being a Tull fan, and Crest of a Knave is pretty hardcore-Tull-fan material.

18. What color does #4 remind you of?
Green, duh.

19. Have you ever blasted #11 on your stereo?
Nah.  I’m a big fan of this album in theory, but I think the execution is not actually so great.

20. What genre is #37?
I think I have it filed under “Geek Pop,” where I keep all my TMBG.  But it’s more of an XTC style parody, really.

21. Can you play #13 on any instrument?
With practice, I could probably play the cello part.

22. What is your favorite lyric from #30?
“Gimme back them good old days, and let me ramble down the line.”

23. What is your favorite lyric from #23?
“They said she got loose on the night she was born / Cranking it up in a school zone.”

24. Would you recommend #24 to your friends?
Not really.  I’d recommend Marillion to my friends for sure, but Afraid of Sunlight is not a good beginner album.

25. Is #2 a good song to dance to?
If not for the Charles Manson associations, I’d say yeah.

26. Do you ever hear #16 on the radio?
King Crimson on the radio?  You must be joking.

27. Is #32 more of a “nighttime” or “daytime” song?
Probably a “daytime” song – I tend to think most Bowie is.

28. Does #36 have any special meaning to you?
To me, no, but there’s a cool story behind it, which I learned from the band’s web site.  The song was written by a group of campers in a workshop that Jim Infantino held up there, and then was set to music afterwards by the band.  The lyrics are about the camp.

29. Do any of your friends like #31?
Matt probably does, he’s a big ELP fan.

30. Is #25 a fast or slow song?
Neither, really, it’s a medium-tempo folk song.

31. Is #35 a happy or sad song?
Sad, but it’s more like angry, really.

32. What is one of your favorite lyrics from #9?
“Maybe there’s a monkey on your back / And you don’t want him there.”

33. Is #34 better to listen to alone or with friends?
With a little help from my friends, of course!

34. When did you first hear #27?
In my parents’ minivan, in Maine.  We’d bought the album while on vacation there.

35. Name 3 other songs by the artist who did #29:
This is going to be hard to do off the top of my head.  I can definitely think of “Hello Mister” and I think he did one called “Jesus Come Back”.  They’re all pretty nuts, and he only did 2 albums, and I only have one of them.

36. Do you know all the words to #6?
Nope.  In fact, I don’t know a single one.

37. Does #28 have better lyrics or music?
It ain’t got no lyrics!

38. What album is #10 from?
I have no idea – I got it from Jon Nusholtz to play at his wedding dance, which I DJed.

39. How did you learn about the artist who does #32?
Not really sure – probably from my dad, who mostly introduced me to music.  I’ve definitely been aware of David Bowie for longer than I can remember.

40. Are you embarrassed to have/like #5? What about #16?
I’m definitely not embarrassed about #5.  I don’t particularly love #16, but it’s on a King Crimson album that I generally think is pretty good, so I guess I’m not too embarrassed about it either.

There is — probably — at least one person on your friends list that wants to f*ck the hell out of you.

Soooo . . . let’s play the game everyone loves, F*ck or Pass!

The rules, they are simple.

If you want to f*ck the person who posts this, send him or her a reply saying “I’d f*ck you.” (Or however you’d want to say it… please, feel free to embellish! Creativity may be rewarded!)

(This is, of course, a totally imaginary game that does not take into account current relationships.)

Then, marvel at the replies! Comments are screened.

In exchange, you have to are encouraged to post this in your journal.

Am I the only one who thinks this is a really, really bad idea?  Do you really want to know this information?  This is the kind of stuff that causes friendship-breaking tensions between people.

So please, people, if you want to have sex, fellatio, BDSM, or anything else of the sort with me – wait for an appropriate moment and then perhaps tell me.  It’s not because I don’t like you or don’t want to have sex with you – I just don’t want to ruin a perfectly good friendship by making things weird between us.

And the same goes for people who have posted this on your blog: don’t assume I don’t want to have sex with you just because I haven’t responded.

Comments are disabled for this post just in case anyone feels like ignoring my sage advice…

The Rules
1. Open your music player (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, etc).
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every ‘scene,’ type the song that’s playing. When you go to a new question press the next button.

+ Tagline: Matt Haimovitz – Suite from 44 Duos #2

Uh oh, I think this is going to be an art film.

+ Opening Credits: Billy Preston – Outa-Space

Bouncy, upbeat instrumental. We open with a crane shot of the suburban neighborhood in which our hero lives. The credits roll.

+ Waking Up: David Bowie – Drive-In Saturday

Wow, this is really going to be a weird movie. Wikipedia says this best: “Drive-In Saturday” describes how the inhabitants of a post-apocalyptic world have forgotten how to reproduce, and need to watch old porn films to see how it’s done.

+ Working Song: Hikaru no Go – Tomadoi (Piano Version)

(Wow, lordameth ended up with a HNG track for this one too… go figure.)

This is a very slow, melancholy kind of track. I guess our hero doesn’t really like his work very much.

+ Falling in Love: The Tiger Lilies – The Dreadful Story About Harriet And The Matches

Um, no comment. Harriet, the love interest in this movie, is going to be really quite screwed up.

+ Sex: Ringo Starr – I Think Therefore I Rock

A happy, hard-rock anthem. “In her eyes I saw our future / She opened my mind to see…”

+ Lusting: Nine Inch Nails – Terrible Lie

“Why are you doing this to me? Am I not living up to what I’m supposed to be?” Our hero is filled with angst, but I kind of think that Harriet is probably just screwing with his head.

+ Cooking Dinner: Marillion – Beautiful

Our hero and Harriet make up, kiss, and cook dinner together. It is Very Moving(tm).

+ Walk in the Park: Meat Loaf – Bolero

They go for a ride on the parkway on Harriet’s Harley. Our hero is somewhat disturbed by the fact that Harriet keeps taking cats out of her shoulder bag and throwing them in front of the bike.

+ Working Out at the Gym: Great Big Sea – The Mermaid

Our hero takes a break from all this excitement and goes to the gym. The music gets considerably calmer, probably because Harriet is nowhere to be found.

+ Fight Scene: Paul Simon – Crazy Love, Vol. II

“I don’t want no part of this crazy love / I don’t want no part of your love,” our hero sweetly and softly tells Harriet. Predictably, she is somewhat upset.

+ Breaking Up: Jethro Tull – Rosa on the Factory Floor

Fine, then, says Harriet. I am just going to go back to my ex-husband, Santa Claus.

Whatever, you crazy bitch, scoffs our hero.

+ Secret Love: Jethro Tull – Astronomy

In a shocking plot twist, not to mention sudden change of genres, Harriet goes back to her ex-husband, Santa Claus.

(Yes, there is a method to this madness. Just wait for it, mmmkay?)

+ Life’s Okay: Silly Wizard – The Secret Portrait/Wha’ll Be King But Cherlie

Meanwhile, back in Suburbia, everyone is hanging out their Christmas decorations. The stockings are hung from the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be there.

+ Mental Breakdown: The Nite-Liters – K-Jee

Unfortunately, St. Nicholas does in fact show up, along with his ex-wife, Harriet. Our hero comes to the sudden and painful realization that he may just have been wrong about her.

+ Partying: Mark Knopfler – Sailing to Philadelphia

At the office Christmas party, with his boring cow orkers, our hero just can’t seem to enjoy himself. His thoughts are constantly on his lost crazy girlfriend.

+ Long Night Alone: The Doors – The Crystal Ship

In an extremely artsy and emo dream sequence, our hero realizes where he must go: the North Pole, to fight Santa and win back his Harriet.

+ Final Battle: Blackmore’s Night – Ding Dong Merrily On High

(I told you there was a method to this madness.)

Our hero faces off against Santa and his hordes of elves. Fortunately, elves are real wimps.

+ Death Scene: The Vitamin String Quartet – If You Love Somebody Set Them Free

As Santa lies on the ground, dying, Harriet weeps over his dead body. Oh well, says our hero, I guess you’re stuck with me now.

Are you out of your fucking mind? says Harriet. Seriously, I’m not sure what he was thinking – who hooks up with their husband’s killer?

+ Funeral: Mason Williams – Classical Gas

Suddenly, down from the heavens comes Jesus himself, along with a band of angels. They bury Santa, and explain to our hero that he is the new Santa Claus now. Ho ho ho!

+ Closing Credits: Styx – Clair De Lune, Ballerina

As the credits roll, the audience is left wondering why they paid $9.50 for this crap.

How many songs total: 5368
How many hours or days of music: 16 days, 20 hours, 57 minutes
Most recently played: Charles Douglas – She’s An Angel
Most played: 3-way tie!  Mark Knopfler – Marbletown, 3 Doors Down – Kryptonite, They Might Be Giants – The Cap’m

Sort by song title:
First Song: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – 2nd Ave, 11am
Last Song: David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust

Sort by time:
Longest Song: Excluding podcasts and audiobooks: Jethro Tull – A Passion Play [0:44:57]
Shortest Song: 5-way tie: Clerks – Dante’s Lament, Jim’s Big Ego – Intro, Spur of the Moment – Untitled, They Might Be Giants – Who’s Knocking on the Wall?, They Might Be Giants – I Heard a Sound [all 0:00:04]

Sort by album (full album):
First album: Dance Dance Revolution – 2nd Mix.  Excluding video games: A Blinding Silence – 17th and K
Last album: Police – Zenyatta Mondatta

Search the following and state how many songs come up:
Death: 21 (mostly from The Aquabats vs. The Floating Eye Of Death)
Life: 36
Love: 174
Hate: 29
You: 395
Sex: 18

Ten shuffled songs:
1. Moldy Peaches – Who’s Got the Crack?
2. Marillion – Assassing
3. Weird Al – It’s All About the Pentiums
4. Squeeze – Pulling Mussels
5. Lonnie Mack – Wham!
6. Yat Kha – Amdy Baryp
7. Ian Anderson – Not Ralitsa Vassileva
8. Motorhead – Killed By Death
9. The Reverse Engineers – Mercury in Retrograde
10. Marillion – The Answering Machine

Age: 24
From: Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. For those from the New York metro area, that will roughly read as “white boy land.”
Languages: English, obviously. Some Spanish, but not fluent by any means. Lots of programming languages, if that counts.
Parentage: First son of a grad school professor and a children’s librarian. My dad’s family is all from Russia and western-bloc former SSRs, and my mom’s family is half Russian and half Hungarian.
Education: BS in Computer Science and Philosophy from Brandeis University.
Relationship/Domestic Status: In a serious, long-term relationship with . She and I live together along with three other friends.
Vocation: Web Applications Developer at DataSynapse, Inc. Previously worked at PatientKeeper and Novell.
Astrology: Aries and Year of the Pig, but I don’t put any stock in superstition.
Totem: It’s an okay media player, I guess. (Yes, I understand the meaning of the question, and am deliberately evading it. See answer to Astrology question.)
Food and Sex: Preferably separate, thanks. In terms of food, I’m a chocoholic and also love BBQ and Indian food, and generally am a sucker for anything spicy. In terms of sex… that’s for me to know.
Sexual Orientation: Ostensibly straight.
Piercings: None.
Tattoos: None.
Health Foo: Very obviously overweight. Childhood asthma, which isn’t around anymore, thankfully. Allergic to cats. Occasionally prone to pulled leg muscles, which I think are stress related.
Hobbies: Gaming (LARP, board games, old school PC adventure games). I play guitar and like to sing, both with instruments and karaoke. LARP increasingly is my life.

tpau

.

So, for “first pet,” since I’ve never owned a pet that I named, I’m going with “first computer” instead.  My first computer was named Sonic.

1. Your rock star name (first pet, current car): Sonic Echo

2. Your gangsta name (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Peanut Butter Moc

3. Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal): Yellow Loris

4. Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born): Lang New York

5. Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name, followed by the first two letters of your mother’s maiden name and the first three letters of your hometown): Buna Lahas

6. Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Orange Baileys

7. NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers): Bill Joseph

8. Stripper name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Shiseido Reeses

10. TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Marcus Moscow

11. Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Winter Tulip

12. Cartoon name: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Apple Pants

13. Hippie name (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Coffee Redwood

14. Porn Star Name (the name of your first pet followed by the street you first lived on): Sonic Rosedale

gruyere

.

1. Put your music player on “random.” Skip songs with not-very interesting titles (such as “Concerto #4 in E minor”).
2. List the titles of the first 25 songs to come up.
3. Put “in my pants” after each title.

As an added bonus, I’ve put snarky comments next to those where I could think of them.

1. Maggie’s Pancakes In My Pants – Enter the Haggis (mmm, pants pancakes…)
2. Red Integra In My Pants – Honest Bob & the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives (those are probably some big pants)
3. Walk of Life In My Pants – Dire Straits
4. Six Guys, Ten Teeth In My Pants – Paul & Storm
5. Dark Angel In My Pants – VnV Nation
6. Wind-Up In My Pants – Jethro Tull (hmmm….)
7. I Think I’m Going Bald In My Pants – Rush (some would enjoy that kind of thing)
8. Green Fingernails In My Pants – The American Song-Poem Collection
9. The Lie In My Pants – Bad Religion (I don’t tend to lie about that, but I guess some people do)
10. She’s Actual Size In My Pants – They Might Be Giants (see 9 above)
11. Brave Foot Soldiers In My Pants – Wolfstone
12. Bridge In My Pants – Marillion
13. Harvest of the Moon In My Pants – Steeleye Span
14. Liquid Dreams In My Pants – Liquid Tension Experiment (it’s just too easy)
15. Let Me Be In My Pants – Pentangle (yeah, who are you to tell me not to wear pants!)
16. 21st Century Schizoid Man In My Pants – King Crimson
17. Walkin’ With Mr. Lee In My Pants – Lee Allen & His Band
18. Five Per Cent for Nothing In My Pants – Yes
19. Operators Are Standing By In My Pants – They Might Be Giants
20. Out of Control In My Pants – Oingo Boingo (yeah, yeah…)
21. Obviously In My Pants – Jesus H Christ and the Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse
22. Dogs & Ferrets In My Pants – Steeleye Span (ouch!)
23. Tennessee Stud In My Pants – Doc Watson (awwwww yeah)
24. The Miracle In My Pants – Queen
25. Attacked By Snakes In My Pants! – The Aquabats (double ouch!)

“Nat Budin” is actually my real name. Well, my full name is “Nathaniel Lang Budin.” I go by “Nat” because “Nathaniel” sounds very old-fashioned. “Lang” is my mom’s maiden name, and it’s also the middle name of my two younger brothers, and Jeremiah.

Nathaniel (I’m told) means “gift of God.” My brothers also have Biblical first names, presumably because my parents thought that would be cool.

Lang, or so the family story goes, is an Ellis Island name. Nobody knows the original family name, but the ancestor that first came over to America had bright, flaming red hair (hmm, must be a recessive trait). “Lang” is Hungarian for “flame.”

The origin of the name Budin is lost to the mists of time. However, many of my Spanish-speaking friends find it pretty funny, because in Spanish, Budin means “pudding.” Hence my IRC nick, mrpudding.

- Is it a handle you use in other parts of your online life?

Yes, except:

* on IRC I’m “pudding” or “mrpudding” (see above story)
* on online games I’m usually “Collini” (generated by a name generator, I liked the sound of it)

- How well do you feel the name “describes” you? Do you identify with it?

It better! It’s my real name!

- Have you ever considered changing it?

No, but there was a period of time when was considering inverting his middle and last names (“Budin Lang” instead of “Lang Budin”). This was because my mom’s generation was going to be the last of the Langs, and he didn’t want the name to die out. For some reason he never did it – maybe he can tell you that story.

- If we met online, what name did you first know me under?

Almost certainly my real name.