Leathercraft

I have recently really gotten into leathercraft as a result of my larp participation in Hynafol. I have cranked out a couple of projects so far including a small belt pouch, a sword frog and even a pair of turn shoes. Leathercraft seems to be incredibly forgiving with the work. 

My first project was a pre-cut pouch that came together in a couple of days. Second project was a sword frog from a pattern I got from Tandy Leather. I lined the inside of the sword frog with some blue suede. My third project was a pair of turn shoes from Foxes and Ravens. I purchased the pattern online and followed their video to make the shoes. It was not a difficult project, but the sewing was really tedious. 

My latest project is some leather armor and is my most ambitious project yet. No sewing thankfully, but it involves a lot of cutting, tooling and dying of lather in multiple colors.

Ridelog: Trois Nashville




This past week we had a wonderful trip down to Tennessee. Did you know that there was a Nashville in Illinois? I didn't. Last year we had a weekend trip organized to Nashville, Indiana. It was a delightful surprise of a ride, with incredibly technical roads. We decided to make a week long trip out of the whole thing and to "Trois Nashville". This was perhaps the largest group ride we have done with I think a total of 14 bikes. We had even more people (friends and family of various members) meet up with us in Nashville Tennessee.  

Book Review: The Crippled God


The Crippled God by Steven Erikson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's been almost eight years since I first picked up Gardens of the Moon and began my journey with the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

This series has demonstrated to me that it is one of the most dense and complex narratives that perhaps will ever be written in this genre. The Crippled God follows in the general form of the predecessor books. The story is dense, with multiple storylines weaving back and forth. Erikson demonstrates once again his proficiency for writing a war epic and I found myself sobbing at the latter half of the book as the final stories of heroes and brothers and sisters all came together.

This book and this series stand as a testament to such an incredible narrative concept. Yes, the writing at times was long and verbose and the internal monologue of characters extends for pages at times, but the grand story of what is told over the course of ~10,000 pages is truly epic in all sense of the word. The world, the story, the events that occur here are grand beyond scale, while at the same time never losing sight of the personal stories of the soldiers and their comrades standing next to them in the trenches.

It's remarkable to sort of look back both on the series and where I am as a person. It's a chapter that is closed in many ways, finally finishing this series. I don't know if I'll ever go back for a second read, but the writing in this book has influenced me creatively perhaps in more ways than anything else I have ever read. These books have become tent-poles for my concepts on fantasy in much the same way that the Lord of the Rings has for so many others. The world, the races, the gods, the magic are all diverse and creative and it is bittersweet to close this final book out.


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Ridelog: Indiana and the Hoosier National Forest

This past weekend we had a nice extended four day trip down to the Hoosier National Forest area in souther Indiana. I have to say that the trip was a complete surprise for me. I had no idea what to expect for the roads, but man they were great. Most of our riding took place in and around the Hoosier National Forest and our basecamp was in Columbus Indiana. The roads were very narrow and very hilly with blind curves all over the place in and out of the hills. If I am being honest, they were perhaps some of the more technical roads I've ever ridden if only for the small hills that made so many blind entrances. 

On Sunday we rolled into Nashville Indiana for lunch and we were pleasantly surprised to find a very charming artist community. I would 100% love to go back and make a basecamp weekend in this are and rent a cabin or something in the Nashville area. The whole thing is only about 200 mile from Chicago so you can get there and back in about four hours. 

One Year with the 1250RT

It has been just over a year since I have now had the 1250RT. Just over 11,000 miles now that I have had this bike and I have to say that I have absolutely loved the bike so far. I used to think that My 1200R was going to be the bike that I kept forever, but as you know from my posts last summer, it was just getting to be a bit too uncomfortable with the riding position. I have come to realize that more and more of my riding is long weekend rides and I unfortunately fo not have much opportunity for community on the bike due to my job. 

The amenities that the touring bike has brought have been a surprising and welcome addition that I didn't think I really needed prior to this point. Cruise control alone is worth is the worth the price of entry. It is one of those added additions that I never really thought I would have needed. I am also really enamored with the quick shifting mechanism on the bike. 

Like I said, I have a 11,000 miles on it since I got it last August, which is probably the most miles I have put on a bike in a single year. The most recent 5500 mile certainly helped, but I would not have been able to complete that trip riding the 1200R unfortunately. 

My only real complaint at this point about the bike is that it actually has too much wind protection and I am absolutely roasting on those hot July and August days in the heat. 

Book Review: The Journal of Nicholas Cresswell

The Journal of Nicholas Cresswell, 1774-1777 by Nicholas Cresswell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found out about this book after watching the Townsends Youtube channel in which they referred to a type of dried fish. I had a surprisingly difficult time trying to find a free ebook of this.

This is a journal, plain and simple. It chronicles Nicholas Cresswell's time in colonies just as their American Revolution kicks off. The most interesting aspects of the book really are his characterization of the people in America during this time. There is distinct notes about George Washington near the end of the book that appear to reinforce the almost romanticized version American's have for the man.

Other notable things that stuck out to me are his comments regarding race relations and his observations on slavery. The passages are generally brief, but notable. In all truth though, there isn't much too this book. It is simply a unique window into the most iconic period in America's history and having that look from the side of a British citizen during the war is very interesting.


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Ridelog: Colorado and the Million Dollar Highway


Day 1 and Day 2 - Travel Across Iowa and Nebraska

Day one of our second trip to Colorado. I-88 was under a lot of construction so we held onto Route 30 through most of Illinois. We then jumped onto I-80 and stayed on that to Nebraska. The temperature was hot, in the upper 80's. Around 488 miles on day one. 

Day two was another long haul on the highway. Lunch was at a truck stop, always a good choice in my book. 

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Music Listening: AAC - The Destiny 2 Soundtrack

I have finally found a game that has broken by addiction to Overwatch (more on that later), and with that game came a soundtrack that almost broke my addiction to the Skyrim Soundtrack. 

Destiny 2 released this past week and with it came a beautiful soundtrack that includes 44 tracks of beautiful and haunting orchestral music. The music here is simply gorgeous, and while it does feature several tracks with repeating melodic themes, it really does capture the melancholy mood of the game. The highlight of the soundtrack is the song "Journey", which is performed by the Kronos Quartet. The song comes in the story at a time when your character is broken, both physically a mentally. As a  player you find yourself in the wilderness, exposed and vulnerable to death and perhaps even hollowed out by the loss of the "light". 

The track is simply beautiful and Bungie did a fantastic job of settling the rest of the ambience of the game into the background to let the music shine in your time of desperation. You can find that track below

If you are in any way a fan of orchestral film or game soundtracks then this is a must buy. It is ranking up there as one of my top favorites and I have been listening to it on repeat all week long.