The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 31, 2013 -- 3B
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 3B
The pitfalls of
overconsumption
LARPing events are spread out all throughout the Midwest.
*LARPig brings
diehards together
It's the end of another
stressful week - packed
with the usual slew of
things to do, places to be and
people to see - and I still have
three novels
and four
scripts to
read, decades
of film his-
tory to catch
up on and
two papers
to draft. But, CARLY
seriously KEYES
earning a
breather
from academia, I plop down on
the couch and turn on my TV.
I learn that James Spader is
back on primetime as America's
most wanted criminal-turned-
crime fighter (think Hannibal
Lecter meets Jack Bauer). So,
five episodes later (which at
this point is, of course, every
episode to date), Friday night is
gone forever.
There's no question I
could've been more produc-
tive with my time and made
some healthier decisions like
exercising or reading a book.
But this isn't another knock on
digital obsession. I'm perfectly
content with how I spent those
six hours decompressing on the
couch and immersing myself
in Spader's oozing charm and
sexy wit.
I'm just simply wondering:
Why allfive episodes? And even
if I had taken the higher road
and gone for a run or delved
into my copy of "Adaptation," I
guarantee I'd have logged eight
miles and finished the book in
one sitting. Why does one of
anything never seem enough?
The day after my Spader-fest,
I went to Costco. Talk about
excessive: It's like a playground
for adult consumers where they
swing through the bulk gro-
cery department and climb on
the piles of discount designer
clothes while the "chaperones"
stationed throughout the area
offer them complimentary
refreshments.
But now, when the bell rings
and I re-enter the real world,
I'm usually down a couple hun-
dred dollars from buying things
I don't need. My shelves are
stocked with glasses, and still,
I couldn't turn down a 20-pack
for $20. Ihave plenty of pans,
but the:
for $25
in my c
Andt
trip to t
market
turn wI
made o
guardin
your re
and the
our pac
"Did
muffint
Appa
a two-f
mom w4
she info
one pac
ry muff
navigat
Saturda
we just
out of t
was loc
of thes
"But
ately sa
"I kn
believe,
one is e
D
the
the:
the i
Then
signaler
of a sud
sportin;
khaki p
placed I
cart. An
Talkie.
"I'llr
yout WI
At th
carts -
also jus
out of tI
behindi
our wis
"We,
fins. Th
But s
touch w
sighed
"The
Mini
apple-c
re was no way a 3-pack appeared in the trusted hands
wasn't going to end up of another red vest/khaki pants
art. combo.
then, a nearly textbook "I can't believe you'd leave
his super-sized super- without your other pack of
took an unexpected muffins!" Ralph said.
hen, as my mom and I A typical human and work-
ur exit, the employee ing man, Ralph was just doing
ig the door (making sure his job. We're biologically driv-
ceipt and cart are one en to consume and accumulate,
same) inquired about socially encouraged to own
k of muffins: and collect and economically
you get just one pack of advised to go after deals and
s?" specials - even if it's more than
rently, the muffins were we need.
or-one deal, and my So, thanks to Ralph and
asn't aware. Even still, crew, I now had a pack of muf-
armed the woman that fins that would go to waste and
k of cake-sized blueber- glasses and pans that wouldn't
ins is plenty. Plus, after fit in my cabinets. I looked
ing a swelling sea of around my home; I owned so,
iy shoppers for an hour, much but needed and used so
wanted to get the hell little.
here, and the bakery I discussed the Costco muf-
ated at the opposite end fin incident with a friend. He
tore. said I should try "going mini-
... it's free," she immedi- malist," which is just a rather
id. formal way of saying, "Don't
.ow this is hard to buy things you don't need and
I quickly replied:"But get rid of shit you don't use."
nough." "Decluttering" is the technical
term. So, I put myself through
a classic minimalist exercise: I
know removed every piece of cloth-
ing that I hadn't worn ina year.
muffin man One-third of my wardrobe cov-
I ered the floor by the time I'd
muffinman finished.
So far, I'm liking the results
muffin man? of this experiment. I created
more space in my life - physi-
cally and psychologically - and
then profited financially. After
woman must've silently donating most of the neglected
d for backup because, all attire to charity, I listed a
den, a second woman few select pieces on eBay and
g the official red vest/ smiled as the bids rolled in.
ants combo appeared and So, though time is money,
her hands firmly on our I'm going to let my TV binging
ad this one had a Walkie- habit slide for now and focus
on altering my "more is better"
adio someone to get it for instincts when it comes to the
hich kind do you want?" tangible, especially as we head
is point, a traffic jam of into the holiday season. My
helmed by others who advice: try to keep it black and
t want to also get the hell white when faced With a buy-
here - had accumulated ing decision. Either you need
us. I tried harder to make it or you don't. As we coexist
hes clear: in this world of excess, owning
don't want more muf- less can actually give you more
ank you!" whether it's extra space in your
he'd already gotten in closet, additional dollars in
with "Ralph in Bakery." I your Paypal account or a happy
and gave in. combination of the both.
Live Action Role
Playing culture on
the rise in A2
By CONRAD FOREMAN
DailyArts Writer
Prior to last night, my know
edge on Live Action Role Pla
ing, or LARPing, was prett
much limited to everythin
I learned from the 2008 Pau
Rudd/Sean William-Scott clas
sic "Role Models."
I'm not one for judging book
by their covers, but it's fair t
say that my perception is tha
LARPing is a nerdy activit
Don't get me wrong - I respec
the hell out of anyone pursuinr
something they love.
So, with that in mind, I s
down to get schooled in LARP
ing 101 with Todd and Carr
Knabusch, Ann Arbor residen
who that consider the sport on
of their favorite activities.
"I overheard some of m
friends talking about it, and
thought it sounded cool, so
ended up going out and tryin
it," Carrie said. "It was fun, so
kept doing it."
"I started back in 2005
Todd said. "It was somethin
that my friends in high schoo
at the time, went out and tri
and they were like, 'Oh, you g
to come try this; it's tons of fun
So, I went out and tried it an
just got sucked into it."
I had a couple veterans on im
hands. To commit to anythin
for five or eight years mean
you have to be pretty passiona;
about it.
"It's a great way to reliev
aggression," Carrie said "It
Released this past May,
Disclosure's excellent debut
album, Settle,
is a complex
and rhythmic
exploration
of elec- Appolo
tronica and Disclosure
house in the
21st century. lslatd
The album is
even classified on its Wikip
dia page as "future garage,"
whatever that means. On
"Apollo," the British elec-
tronic duo's first release sin
their album, Guy and Howa
Lawrence get back to basics
"Apollo" isn't as dynamic
some of the stronger songs o
Settle; instead, it's a straight
and simple deep house trac
complete with sinister synti
a chopped up, desperate voc
sample and a dark, warbling
bass that splashes the song
with a small dose of tan-
gible terror. The track man-
very physically active; you get to
beat up on people and not get in
trouble for it. Plus, you can meet
a lot of interesting people."
Todd spoke about how he
enjoys the technique involved
in fighting - that some serious
LARPers had broken it down
from "swinging sticks at each
4- other" to something closer
y- resembling martial arts.
:y Todd and Carrie attend
g LARPing practices three or
ul four times per week. They also
s- travel significant distances to
other gatherings in Toledo,
ks Ohio, Bowling Green and other
:o cities in Michigan.
at While this weekly regimen is
y. pretty packed, Todd and Carrie
ct are willing to go the extra mile
g for large events, which they
attend twice a month. Their
at quests to LARP have taken
P- them all over, from Big,10 states
ie such as Ohio, Indiana, Pennsyl-
ts vania and Illinois, and down to
ie SEC country in South Carolina,
Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee
ay and even Texas.
I To give some perspective,
I the practices that Todd and
ag Carrie attend throughout the
I week range in attendance from
eight to 40 people, while the
large weekend events can be to
ig upward of 600.
1, Here in Ann Arbor, the cou-
d ple participates in a local game
ot of Dagorhir.
.' Dagorhir was founded in 1977
d in Maryland. Originally based
on "The Lord of the Rings," it
ly has grown into an international
g game played by thousands.
s, "I would say probably about
te six, seven years ago, our area
really exploded as far as popu-
ve lation growth and interest in
's Dagorhir as a whole;" Todd
SINGLE REVIEV\
said. "And it's been kind of up
and down. It exploded and got
really big for a few years."
"The last maybe two years it
was a little bit of a down time for
a lot of people," Carrie added.
"And now it's starting to pick
up. More and more people are
showing interest in it now than
in the last one or two years."
Todd and Carrie explained
how the portrayal of LARPing
in the mainstream media differs
from the reality. Carrie specifi-
cally addressed "Role Models."
"That is more like a very true
LARP," Carrie explained. "And
Dagorhir is more physical than
that. There's a lot less actual
role-playing. We pick names for
ehch other and we wear funny
clothes and whatnot, but we
don't really act out our deaths,
and we don't have magic and we
don't go over the top with being
dramatic. Some people do, and
it's kind of amusing, but it's not
the focus of Dagorhir."
"There's such a wide variety
between people who completely
do role-playing and very little
fighting, to the complete oppo-
site side of the spectrum, where
there's almost all fighting and
very little role-playing," Todd
clarified.
Before we parted ways,
I asked the Knabusches to
explain why people like me
should give LARPing a try.
"You get to just be a crazy
kid," Carrie said. "And if you
can handle people judging you
a little bit, you can just brush
it off and have a good time, be
ridiculous."
"You get to go out and beat
people with sticks and not get
in trouble for it," Todd added.
What's not to like about that?"
apple-cinnamon then
ates later, a pack of
innamon muffins
Keyes is never going backto Costco
again. To convinve her otherwise,
email cekmusic@umich.edu
TRICK OR
TWEET!
@MICHIGANDAILY
ages to maintain momentum where in Kanye's Yeezus.
throughout, culminating in a Compared to the duo's past
tension-building breakdown standouts, "Apollo" ranks
near the end that features somewhere in the middle,
laser gunfire and sporadic, but, beingthat it's Disclosure,
tsunami warning-sounding you'll still have no problem
synth flares that would have moving your feet.
been perfectly at home some- -JACKSONHOWARD
j
k-