Gentleman's Ones and Strictly Average: Which B..?

You know how it's the simplest questions that are the hardest to answer?  Just such a question has become  a topic of conversation with Brian, the Gentlemen in Question behind the Read Up To Keep Up Blog, A Gentlemen's Ones.

You're probably familiar!

Since this series promises to lead right up to and through Adepticon, let's set up a standard opening with hyperlinks.  That's a very bloggie, forumy thing to do, right?

*and key music*  


Brian and Brent, Brent and Brian... two men, two perspectives, one mission:  prepare for Adepticon 2012!  Guys with a mutually supporting but totally manly self-supporting goal:  to assist one another in marshaling little metal and plastic warriors to do battle on fields of styrofoam and flock.


Who will bring dishonor upon himself and his blog?  Who will be forced to seppuku due to the sheer shame of it all?  Who will fall in defeat; who will rise from ignominy?  


Who will meet his goal:  one, both, or neither?  Find out in this week's exciting installment of...

Which 'B' Will It Be?

(Or as I like to call it, WAAC You!)

Hell, yeah!  That's an intro!

* * * 

So, here's a thought; is the tournament condition as it pertains to the hobby a spectrum disorder?

By that I mean certainly not everyone falls exactly on one end of the WAAC vs FAAP paradigm or the other.  Let's take a look at a line illustrating the point:

WAAC -------------------------*------------------------- FAAP

WAAC:  Win At All Cost
FAAP:  Fluffy At Any Price

So you've got both poles, and the star represents a middle ground, yes?  And we tend to think of players - at least, if the fights on the internet are any indication - as being either one or the other.  Life just isn't that way.  Even you straight-ticket types out there probably have some opinions more in keeping with the other side.

It's why, contrary to the thinking of a Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher, most of us are a little less ideologically driven in our daily lives... and moderate or free-thinker isn't a bad thing.

It's a spectrum, from one pole to the other, and it's a concept in thinking that allows more substance than 'either-or.'

* * * 

Here it is again:

WAAC ------------B------------*------------B------------ FAAP

For the sake of argument, let's assume we're looking at the WAAC/FAAP spectrum; my 'B' is more left of center...

...uh... just a second...

FAAP ------------B------------*------------B------------ WAAC

(What?)

Much better!  So my 'B' is more right of center while Brian's trends closer to FAAP.  I can't say for certain, but I'd argue those points represent us as we normally are.

(Oh.)

Brian's a bit more the fluffy hobbyist and I'm a bit more the tournament player.  That's us...

I should point out, his army is still a work in progress.

...but what if we're going into Adepticon needing a bit more of the other in our approach?

And that's this series in a nutshell.  Brian is playing in the Combat Patrol Tournament at Adepticon, while I myself need to improve my painting scores over last year's.  I hope as many of you as possible will follow this series and provide advice and insight.

* * * 

Just keep in mind it wouldn't be much of a series if we immediately adopted all the great insight I'm sure you fine folks have to offer!  Sometimes, the process is the thing.

* * * 

Here's the Bell of Lost Souls Article that kicked this whole mad mess off, and here's Brian's first article on A Gentleman's Ones.  We'll be responding and corresponding on either or both blogs, as appropriate.

Wish us luck!

(Whatever.)