Behold... ZUCCHINIDRUM!

So, my brother grew this zucchini in his garden...



It was pretty darn big.

I was fidgeting with it and realized that because it is thicker on one end, it actually produces distinct sounds on each end if you strike it like a drum, and it was big enough to actually have a pretty nice resonance. I began to first absent-mindedly, and then more thoughtfully, tap-tap-tap upon it.

I became... fascinated.

Family members commented. It was suggested that I had spent more time with the zucchini than with my infant neice. This was of course a scandalous lie, and yet it is true that the sounds of this oblong green bongo were developing for me a strange allure. While the family was all gathered in the living room chatting, I tried and failed to be discreet in gathering up the zucchini and my backpack, in which I carry my recording equipment, and wordlessly, perhaps worryingly, disappeared into the bathroom for about ten minutes.

Fortunately my family is far too polite to comment upon, let alone inquire after, such things. Then again, perhaps having left what I was doing in there up to peoples' imaginations was not the best plan. In any case, I digress.

Having not-so-secreted myself away, I sat down, broke out the recording gear and started banging away. The results are better than I'd expected, so without further ado, I give you...

ZUCCHINI DRUM! (initial field recordings)

(after showing him this, my friend Victor introduced me to The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra. Perhaps I've found my calling...)

Signal boost: WPI LARP Weekend 11/19-21!

(reposted from nyren's journal:

Greetings everyone!

The WPI SFS will be hosting SFS Live Action Weekend (SLAW) this November on the weekend of the 19th to 21st on the WPI campus in scenic Worcester, MA. The event consists of a series of short (1-4 hour) theatrical live action roleplaying games of varying style, flair, and genre.


The website for this event is: http://slaw.wedgegaming.com. The game schedule is up on the site, but game signups do not open until tomorrow (Thursday, October 14th) at 7pm. Crash space can be provided if necessary - there will be a place to sign up for it on the schedule when signups open.


For those of you who are unfamiliar with theatrical live action roleplaying games, they lie somewhere on that overly specific spectrum between audience-less Improv sketches and those games of D&D where people talk more than they roll dice. In the game, you will be playing out a specific role in a specific situation, but how it plays out is entirely up to you. Before the game, you will be given a character sheet detailing the character you are playing. These often tell you things like, who you are, who you know, what you know, what you can do, and what you want to do. No acting or roleplaying experience is required or needed for these games, just an interest in having fun :) The games are all in different styles (serious, silly, bizarre, and so on) and different genres (sci-fi, fantasy, dinner party, mystery, parody, musical, and so on), and we try to make sure there's something for everyone. Costuming is encouraged but by no means required.


For those of you who ARE familiar with theatrical live action roleplaying games, uhh, there will be games! Yay!


On that note, we are (surprisingly) still possibly accepting game bids for SLAW. We should have enough games, but we may be able to fit more in. If you are really interested in running something, please send an email to nyrens@gmail.com.


If you have any questions regarding the event, please email me, and I'll do my best to answer them!

Nyren Knapp
nyrens@gmail.com
SLAW2010 Event Coordinator
http://slaw.wedgegaming.com