T is for...

In the second installment of the alphabet inspiration romp I'm going back to my blog roll. The reason for this is simple, if I'm not writing my own blog, I'm reading someone else's blog, and it's from these I get all kinds of inspiration whether it's in new minis to buy, new ways to paint, terrain ideas, RPG reviews, new boardgames, and more. Sometimes that inspiration is about making changes to Mik's Minis, or even stuff outside the gaming sphere like gardening, cooking, and even exercising. So for the letter "t" we have but two blogs, however these two pack the punch of a dozen of their brethren.

• Tiny Solitary Soldiers: Hands down some of the best 15mm sci-fi figs out there. If you don't get inspired after browsing through Spacejacker's many excellently painted figs there something may be broken with you. Plus, he connects with his reader-base, which as mentioned before is a big boon. It's not just painting minis either, game design, cool projects, great terrain, and more abound. If I just have time to read a single blog or two that day TSS usually makes the top of the list. Good brushes, great content, and a machine that won't stop cranking out new material all the dang time are all reasons it makes the list. I can't help but show bias here since TSS is one of my favorite blogs period.
  
• Tales from Maelstrom: I love me some Tales from the Maelstrom, simply put. Remember those awesome GW figs we painted horribly back in the late '80s? The quirky stuff like Zoats, and classics like the half-pint lead Imperial Guard with their "egg" walkers? Well the Maelstrom has all of these and more, painted quite well, and used on a regular basis in some great batreps. It's these batreps that I enjoy the most, they're well written, feature great pics, and show tabletop gaming at its best. It's a good place to remember as well that if a ruleset was enjoyable to you, why not keep playing it, just because new editions may come out, you don't have to play them.

Next time we've got the letter "u", looking at the blog roll I only have one "u" blog I follow, and sadly it hasn't been updated in quite some time making it dangerously close to being cut! I'll have to dig jsut a tad deeper for the next go 'round. Until then, enjoy!

S is for...

In the spirit of the networked community of us bloggers, you know, those of us that follow, read, and comment back and forth on the sites we, err, follow and read I am taking the alphabetical torch/baton from Eli.

The alphabet "what inspires you" theme was so strong in our gaming blogs recently, and kudos to all who saw it to the end, it was a lot of fun to read all of the entries. However, it was quite a daunting task and one I didn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole, so I stayed well clear...until now!

Now "s" seems like a no-brainer for me, science fiction, plain and simple. I went with "spirit" however because it's all touchy-feeling, but really my inspirational "s" nuggets come in the form those blogs I regularly read that start with the letter "s". I make it a point to keep up with these for one reason or another, as detailed below.

Sons of Twilight: I'm not playing favorites, but there's a reason this one is at the top of the list, ahem. Sons of Twilight is a gaming blog through and through, but it's the obvious LEGO content liberally sprinkled throughout that really gets that soft spot in me. Plus, its author, Erichrome, is the kind of gamer that I highly suspect would be part sitting around the game table were he and I in the same zip code. He's got a heavy GW bent to the blog, but it's all the "step child" games, like epic Space Marine and lots and lots of Blood Bowl. Check out his collaborative work on the M42 Project as well.

Say; Hello Spaceman: This blog is great as its sole content is focus on space-suited sci-fi throughout film and television. If it was just a photo blog though it wouldn't make the cut it, ambitiously it is "an evolutionary timeline for how the design of the space suit has been altered and informed over the years", oh and there are some really cool photos to boot.

Sin City Dispatch: I'll be honest, the idea of a super-blog has crossed my mind more than once or twice, that's one of the seemingly endless reasons I brought my buddy Rucht on board. Well over at Sin City Dispatch they've done that very thing, with three authors no less and lots and lots of varied content. One of the things I enjoy most are the motivational posters, because frankly I have very little exposure to these anywhere else. Lots of great games, large and small, mainstream and indie are discussed as well.

Super-Duper Toybox: It speaks volumes that I list this blog as a "go-to" blog even though I just added it this week. Not a gaming blog, but a toy blog. Toys old and new, mainly action figures, are the focus. Boy Wonder's posts have good information and usually a lot of "action shots" of said figures, you know, doing action and stuff.

I can't go into detail all of my "s" blogs, these are my highlights. My mindset on following blogs is simple, I don't just click "follow" haphazardly, it's got to have content I enjoy. Interacting, if just through the comments field alone, is also important to me. If you're not connecting with your readers, what's the point of writing? I also try to weed out those blogs that have turn to ghost towns and no longer post. Here's the rest:

• Santa Cruz Warhammer: Big site, great 40k content. One-time home of my Barter Bucket.
• Secret Weapon Minis: A "company blog" done right!
• Shelldrake's Zombie Wargame Blog: The name says it all!
• Sons of Taurus: Lots of 40k, lots of Space Marines, lots of...Space Sharks!
• South London Warlords: These guys run Salute of all things, lots of great content.
• Stern Rake Studios: Fantastic site, lots of variety and creativity, lots of Star Wars too.
• Stormcrow Hobbies: A "one-guy" blog doing what we all do.
• The Savage Afterworld: Nothing but excellent content for the excellent Mutant Future RPG, and home of the free Thundarr port too!
  
• Super Galactic Dreadnought: Another "the name says it all" blog!

So there you have it, my inspirations through the letter "s" and how they impact me as a gamer, no, as a person. I'm pulling triple alphabet duty because there's not a blog here that isn't sci-fi in nature, and keeping in the spirit of everything it's all wrapped up in the warm goodness of a giant communal burrito, err, which sounds kind of gross.