BRP Preorder Hardcopy Arrived today

[Sunwolfe]

...Friday, June 13th. My brother's arrived on the same day. We both pre-ordered the day Chaosium made such an option available. Two of my other compatriots did the same and have also received their copies.

Please note: we all live in California and, as the crow flies, live less than 100 miles from Chaosium HQ in Hayward CA.

Cheers,

Sunwolfe

[Dredj]

I think he meant hardcopy Dredj, not hardcover. It's not available in hardcover as yet. Not that I am aware of.

My copy is softcover.

No, I think he meant hardcover, as everyone would have their hardcopies sent to them by now:lol:

[GreatBear]

I am certain that this is not the case.

As am I after looking at the poster's photo of his book. It's square bound paperback. You are right in thinking it's an advance copy. On the subject of POD hardcovers, I have purchased them from other publishers and they usually ship directly from the printer - LuLu for example.

[Ars Mysteriorum]

I am certain that this is not the case.

My guess is that Chaosium got some initial copies from the printer, and sent them to the farthest-reaching customers, thinking that it'd arrive for them the same time as everyone else.

When I lived in Japan, I occasionally had freak mail occurrences, like when my grandmother sent me a birthday card and forgot to put postage on it. Not only that, it wasn't sealed. I got it in less than 72 hours, complete with a check inside from Grandma. (Which made me crazy because I couldn't cash checks in Japan.)

A bit off-topic, but I think this is more than just the second time I've heard you mention living in Japan. I lived there as well! May I ask where you were?

[Jason D]

A bit off-topic, but I think this is more than just the second time I've heard you mention living in Japan. I lived there as well! May I ask where you were?

I was on Shikoku, in Kagawa-ken, Zentsuji-shi.

I was there for six years teaching at a small private university.

Shaira was also a former resident of Japan, but alas, we never met one another.

[Jason D]

As am I after looking at the poster's photo of his book. It's square bound paperback. You are right in thinking it's an advance copy.

I got confirmation from Dustin that the books that have been shipped already were from a first run that was intended for Tentacles.

Unfortunately, they ended up arriving a day after the convention.

[Fergo113]

I got confirmation from Dustin that the books that have been shipped already were from a first run that was intended for Tentacles.

Unfortunately, they ended up arriving a day after the convention.

Ah, mystery solved then. Thanks for that Jason. I should have thought to ask Dustin myself. I guess they must have shipped in the order that the pre-orders came in to Chaosium. Otherwise it wouldn't really make sense that it arrived in some places and not others.

Bad news for Tentacles but GREAT news for those who got a copy.

[Trifletraxor]

So that's why there was no Basic Roleplaying book at Tentacles. They all got diverted to Australia! ;-(

SGL.

[Dredj]

I was on Shikoku, in Kagawa-ken, Zentsuji-shi.

I was there for six years teaching at a small private university.

Shaira was also a former resident of Japan, but alas, we never met one another.

Geeze, and I can't even get out of stinkin' Wisconsin;-(

[Shaira]

I was on Shikoku, in Kagawa-ken, Zentsuji-shi.

I was there for six years teaching at a small private university.

Shaira was also a former resident of Japan, but alas, we never met one another.

I was in Shikoku just once, over in Kan'onji interpreting for the fisheries ministry. Smelly work, but the sushi was great!

Most of the time I lived in Tokyo with the space aliens and mutant ninja. After living there Blade Runner didn't really look scifi any more...

I was there for 5 years - amazing to think at the same time as Jason! Shame indeed our paths never crossed... there was a games shop not far from Shinjuku I used to frequent...

Where were you, Ars Mysteriorum?

(With belated apologies for naked threadjack)

Sarah

[Ars Mysteriorum]

I was in Shikoku just once, over in Kan'onji interpreting for the fisheries ministry. Smelly work, but the sushi was great!

Most of the time I lived in Tokyo with the space aliens and mutant ninja. After living there Blade Runner didn't really look scifi any more...

I was there for 5 years - amazing to think at the same time as Jason! Shame indeed our paths never crossed... there was a games shop not far from Shinjuku I used to frequent...

Where were you, Ars Mysteriorum?

(With belated apologies for naked threadjack)

Sarah

Niigata-ken, Nagaoka-shi. It was a very nice little place that was nigh antarctic in winter and hotter than hell in summer (But the hanabi was amazing).

Unfortunately, I worked for NOVA for the two years leading right up to their big crash. What a horrid corporate environment. We managed to get out just before it all came falling down, though only because my wife literally had a premonition: "I want to go home. Something bad's about to happen."

We met an Australian co-worker there who became one of our best friends, and we all decided to leave together. This made for one of the most memorable nights. I had a cafe where I would go to smoke cigars (and get stared at for doing so... their reasoning was that only rich people smoke cigars). It was a place where no gaijin went because only the older, quieter crowd went there.

The master would keep the place open late and we would talk with his broken English and my broken Japanese. He looked like someone straight out of film noir. Neat black vest, tailored white shirts with a collar. Always. His wife, though 60, looked 30, which lent to the timeless quality of the place.

At night, the regulars would wander in and we would all talk, which would lead to them buying me a drink. In my time there I probably bought 10 or 12 drinks, but drank probably somewhere near 20 or 30. They'd buy me whatever I liked and I wasn't allowed to refuse. Master said so. I always went with scotch, but in small amounts, a concept the master didn't understand.

He would give me a tumbler filled to the brim with scotch, and charge me for a single. I canNOT handle my liquor, and I get drunk on two beers.

After the first time I staggered home, and every time thereafter we would usually have a go-around that became something of an inside joke:

Me: "Scotch, onegaishimasu... TWO fingers."

Master: "Hai, hai. TWO fingers. Wakarimasu!"

Me: (With quirked eyebrow and a poorly hidden smirk) "TWO. FINGERS." (Gesturing with two fingers for emphasis)

Master: (With a likewise quirked eyebrow and a poorly hidden smirk) "Hai! TWO. FINGERS." (Gesturing with two fingers for emphasis)

Then he'd slide me a full tumbler with a big, shit-eating grin. "Two fingers, two fingers... FOUR FINGERS!"

Me: "NANDE?!"

Master: "My treat!"

He just liked to see me become a drunken puddle. This would invariably end up with us well after closing time, him with a beer and a cigarette, me with a scotch and a cigar, talking the night away.

When we left, they closed down the cafe and made a HUUUUGE dinner for our friend from Austrial, my wife, my wife's ex-manager (she had worked in Nagaoka for an additional two years with a different company, and the manager and her became close friends), and myself. He laid out a ridiculous spread of all the colors of sashimi, sushi, yaki-soba, fish, etc. etc. And drinks. We talked and were pretty silly until 1:00 AM, when they walked us to our train to Tokyo and saw us off.

It was probably the best night we had the whole time we lived there.

We get e-mails from my wife's ex-manager, in which the Master said he missed me. They're considering visiting us when we go to Maine. What an honor!

That cafe was better than any tourist site, historic city, or what-have-you for me. It felt better than home. It was where my wife and I would escape to where work could never follow us.

Sorry, I'm having acute nostalgia.

:focus:

[Shaira]

Niigata-ken, Nagaoka-shi. It was a very nice little place that was nigh antarctic in winter and hotter than hell in summer (But the hanabi was amazing).

Unfortunately, I worked for NOVA for the two years leading right up to their big crash. What a horrid corporate environment. We managed to get out just before it all came falling down, though only because my wife literally had a premonition: "I want to go home. Something bad's about to happen."

Small world! I worked for Nova for about a year back in the early days (c 1991) when they only had a handful of schools. I was in Shimokitazawa in Tokyo, which was v. cool, and I stayed on there for several years after I left the school. Nova hadn't yet become the bloated monster it later became (although it was still the Big Mac of English schools), and I made some good friends there.

I had a cafe where I would go to smoke cigars (and get stared at for doing so... their reasoning was that only rich people smoke cigars). It was a place where no gaijin went because only the older, quieter crowd went there.

[...]

That cafe was better than any tourist site, historic city, or what-have-you for me. It felt better than home. It was where my wife and I would escape to where work could never follow us.

There's something about Japanese bars. I had one in Shimo called "Gasoline Alley", the most appalling little hole-in-the-wall that had hung on to life with a load of rock music devotees since the late sixties. Mellow old place, down by the railtrack, full of muzos and writer types. Never seemed to close, reeked of incense. I think because of the nature of Japanese society, when you go into "subculture life" as a Japanese person, you're unlikely to get out again, so everyone makes the most of it.

Sorry, I'm having acute nostalgia.

Daijobu yo. Atashi mo.

Agreed - :focus: before the natives get restless!

Sarah

[Jason D]

There's something about Japanese bars. I had one in Shimo called "Gasoline Alley", the most appalling little hole-in-the-wall that had hung on to life with a load of rock music devotees since the late sixties. Mellow old place, down by the railtrack, full of muzos and writer types. Never seemed to close, reeked of incense.

I used to frequent three different bars in my area, each with different crowds.

One of them was an upscale cocktail place, run by a tiny little old man who looked like the Rankin-Bass Gollum. He always wore black slacks, a silken grey striped vest, and a black bow tie with his starched white shirt, and when he shook the cocktail shaker, his whole face would light up in joy. He'd practically dance while mixing drinks.

The next was a seedier sort of place, a 2nd-floor bar not much larger than a crawl space, where you'd get a different beer each time you ordered if you weren't keeping track. The master there had some excellent foodstuffs, and some truly frightening concoctions (one involved broiled tofu and mayonnaise). It was the kind of place where people took their mistresses, and where at any given time two or three of the patrons were among the digitally-reduced element of society.

The third was my favorite, a jazz-themed place called Solid Media. The master there had a jazz/blues band, and they sometimes played. His wife tended bar, and she had a "I'm busy, get it yourself" attitude when it came to fetching drinks. They always undercharged, and when everyone was drinking the debates would embroil almost everyone in the place.

Excellent times all around. For some reason, when I talk to people who lived and worked in Japan, they always have the same outlook... a particular bar that was more beloved than anything else about their life there.

[Ars Mysteriorum]

I used to frequent three different bars in my area, each with different crowds.

One of them was an upscale cocktail place, run by a tiny little old man who looked like the Rankin-Bass Gollum. He always wore black slacks, a silken grey striped vest, and a black bow tie with his starched white shirt, and when he shook the cocktail shaker, his whole face would light up in joy. He'd practically dance while mixing drinks.

The next was a seedier sort of place, a 2nd-floor bar not much larger than a crawl space, where you'd get a different beer each time you ordered if you weren't keeping track. The master there had some excellent foodstuffs, and some truly frightening concoctions (one involved broiled tofu and mayonnaise). It was the kind of place where people took their mistresses, and where at any given time two or three of the patrons were among the digitally-reduced element of society.

The third was my favorite, a jazz-themed place called Solid Media. The master there had a jazz/blues band, and they sometimes played. His wife tended bar, and she had a "I'm busy, get it yourself" attitude when it came to fetching drinks. They always undercharged, and when everyone was drinking the debates would embroil almost everyone in the place.

Excellent times all around. For some reason, when I talk to people who lived and worked in Japan, they always have the same outlook... a particular bar that was more beloved than anything else about their life there.

Very cool. The third and first ones sound most appealing to me (in that order). There is something about those jazz places. I'd never listen to it at home, but it makes for fantastic background noise. But the master playing in a band? Far out.

You're on to something about the bars and nostalgia. There's a strange appreciation that owners have of their places that you don't get here in the US very often. The owners somehow manage to work their asses off, and yet seem relaxed about it in a way that harried waitresses and overhelpful managers here in the states can't duplicate, save for the rare exception. And, holy crap, do the Japanese know how to dress up a place, or what? They could make the tiniest place seem tremendous and packed with knick-knacks that brought life and character to every tiny corner.

They really are escapes there. Not places to just get drunk, but places to drink in. It's atmospheric intoxication with a side of inebriation. Hells yes.

Then there's the other side. Holy crap, you haven't seen a DIVE until you've been to Japan!

Thanks for sharing, you two!

[Jason D]

There is something about those jazz places. I'd never listen to it at home, but it makes for fantastic background noise. But the master playing in a band? Far out.

Since we're way off topic...

In the nearby town my girlfriend lived, a bar near the train station had a Beatles theme. I would go there if I missed my last train (12:45 am) and wanted to wait for the next early train (4:05 am).

It was an interesting place. One bizarre issue was that you could order draft beers in three sizes... an 6 oz mini for 100 yen, a 12 oz small for 300 yen, and an 18 oz "pint" for 500 yen. I never could figure out the math on that one, and when the foreigners showed up and ordered 30 mini beers at once... they got a bit grouchy.

At midnight and at their 3:00 am closing time, the owner and all of the waitstaff would get up on the little corner stage and do a half-hour set of Beatles tunes. If you didn't have the foresight to order before they went onstage... tough luck, you were waiting. Want to pay your tab while they're onstage... no chance. Wait 'til they're done.

Being drunk in a bar in rural Japan after 3:00 am essentially hostage to your bill while all of the waitstaff are playing "Eleanor Rigby" in Engrish can literally cause you to doubt your sanity. I saw lesser men crushed by it.

[kraalomega]

that's one of the funniest posts I've ever read.:eek:

[Ars Mysteriorum]

Since we're way off topic...

In the nearby town my girlfriend lived, a bar near the train station had a Beatles theme. I would go there if I missed my last train (12:45 am) and wanted to wait for the next early train (4:05 am).

It was an interesting place. One bizarre issue was that you could order draft beers in three sizes... an 6 oz mini for 100 yen, a 12 oz small for 300 yen, and an 18 oz "pint" for 500 yen. I never could figure out the math on that one, and when the foreigners showed up and ordered 30 mini beers at once... they got a bit grouchy.

At midnight and at their 3:00 am closing time, the owner and all of the waitstaff would get up on the little corner stage and do a half-hour set of Beatles tunes. If you didn't have the foresight to order before they went onstage... tough luck, you were waiting. Want to pay your tab while they're onstage... no chance. Wait 'til they're done.

Being drunk in a bar in rural Japan after 3:00 am essentially hostage to your bill while all of the waitstaff are playing "Eleanor Rigby" in Engrish can literally cause you to doubt your sanity. I saw lesser men crushed by it.

I don't know whether that's really funny or the most terrifyingly horrible thing I've ever heard. Were they even marginally talented? Or was it all a front to get a captive audience and stroke their collective ego?

What capitalizes these completely outlandish experiences is just how wonderfully and painfully polite the culture is otherwise. I think this is what makes it so completely unmanning when you suddenly and swiftly find yourself in the Leftest Left Field Ever.

You're tempting me to put up a thread asking for international wackiness...

[Jason D]

Were they even marginally talented? Or was it all a front to get a captive audience and stroke their collective ego?

They were fairly good... probably in top five Japanese Beatles cover house bands. No, I don't have any idea how many more there were, but I imagine it could be quite a subculture.

The absolute best part, which I sadly forgot to mention and I attest to be 100% true, is that the two owners of the bar (the John and Paul proxies) actually had a split over some business issue (we always joked that it was "creative differences" or that a woman named Yoko was involved) and a new bar was born in the next town over.

The new bar (owned by "Paul") continued with the Beatles tunes (along with other artists), while the old one switched to karaoke and instituted an onerous cover charge (¥1300) which entitled you to one beer and the privilege of hearing karaoke.

I think it would have been much better if the new bar had switched to Wings cover tunes and the other bar had explored Lennon's solo career, but such was not the case.

[Jason D]

At this point we probably should petition this thread be split off into one more suitably titled.

[TheShadow]

At this point we probably should petition this thread be split off into one more suitably titled.

Do so and I'll chip in with my own Japanese tales