Very Pinteresting…

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      Typically late to the party, I only recently got on Pinterest. I guess I was in the camp of folks that thought it was an app meant mainly for the ladies…baby shower ideas, wedding stuff, mom tips, etc. Well, after a couple weeks with it, I can emphatically say that it might be the greatest thing to happen to nerds since Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson decided to print up some little booklets.   Well, maybe that’s not a good comparison but work with me

     As I’ve talked about many times before, I’m a busy nerd.  I’ve got a lot of interests and keeping track of them can be a full-time job by itself. Having a Type A personality on top of that means I love me some “To Do” lists. I’ve got them scattered all over the place: in drawers, in notebooks, on my iPhone “Notes” app…everywhere.  They can be projects that need done, supply lists, or some bit of inspiration to build a particular model, read a certain book, etc.

     I frequently find little yellow or hot pink Post-It notes I scribbled at work stuck in my shirt’s breast pocket.  A word or phrase. A partial URL.  And half the time I don’t even know what it means. Because I thought, “Key word it…you’ll remember.” Then I don’t.

      So Pinterest eliminates all of that.  You wanted that recipe for Hobbit Stew?  No need to jot or print it out.  “Pin” it on your virtual bulletin board and it’s there when you need it–no need to sort through Google results wondering, “is this the one?”

     In the short time I’ve been on Pinterest, I’ve created 29 boards. Sounds like a lot, I know. But I quickly found that generalized boards fill up fast and can probably become unwieldy. So for me, specific is better.  If you’re curious, here are some of my board titles:

Backyard Shire (our backyard-fu is weak–needs to look more BagEndish)
Cool Stuff (Stuff I must have. It’s my wish list…because apparently I’m “hard to buy for.”)
Comic Book Stuff
D&D Bestiary (Because sometimes the Monster Manual artworks sucks)
Dungeons & Dragons Old School Art (I loves me some Erol Otus)
Fallout (who doesn’t love post-apocalyptic dystopias?)
Fish Tankery (About to get back into that hobby)
Gaming Stuff (I plan to subdivide this board soon)
Good Eats (I like pie)
I Want to Believe (Bigfoots and Yetis and Chupacabras…Oh my)
Inspirational Fantasy Environments (aka Really Cool Artwork)
Just Read It (Sing it like Michael Jackson)
Lovecraftian Badassery (There’s a lot of it out there)
Miniatures: Ideas, Inspiration, and Tips
Nerd Cave Bathroom (Ideas and inspiration for my personal throne room)
Nerd Cave Living (This is how we do it…)
The Nerd Lab (Ideas for the model-building, miniature painting, nerd project workshop)
NPC & PC Portraits (I can’t draw)
Dungeon Decor (“Here…just look at the picture”)
Projects to Try (Pop top chainmail? check.)
Scale Modeling Inspiration
Spooky Stuff (In case I want to build a life-size Slender Man next Halloween.)
Star Wars
Tolkien Time (You know what time it is.)
Undead–The New Thirty? (Why do I love the undead? They seem like terrible people).
Weird War II (Nazi zombies. Cthulhu. Ray guns? Yes please.)
Wizard Lab Project (Gonna build a shadowbox diorama)

        If you’re really curious, you can check me out on Pinterest here.

    So how can all this help out the hard-working nerd?  Here’s an example of how Pinterest is breathing new life into one of my hobbies.  My D&D campaign.  It’s been DOA for awhile.  My 9 year old son has been really wanting to play and I’ve been putting him off with “I’m working on it.” But my “working on it” has mainly been thinking about it with very little actual pencil-to-paper action.  Ya’ll know me and my analysis paralysis hang-up.

     Then, one night I was soaking my poor arthritic knee in the tub and cruising Pinterest on the ol’ iPhone when I had a bit of an epiphany.  I think my days of sitting down for 4 or 5 hours at a time drawing dungeon maps and writing up adventures are over.  Plus, I get really hung up on creating things from whole cloth.  I’m no Monte Cook over here.  I need a spark.  A nudge.  Check out my “Inspirational Fantasy Environments” board (I know…that title).  Pick a random image and ask yourself, “OK, what’s the story here?”  That’s what I’ve been doing and the ideas are flowing like B.S. from Brian Williams’ mouth (“So there we were…in the middle of Mount Doom…when I turned to Frodo and said, ‘Give me the ring’.”)

     The self-deprecating part of me said, “Nice one DM…can’t come up with your own stuff?” But then the reasonable side said, “Duh, that’s why it’s called ‘inspiration’.”

      So, if you haven’t given this cool site/app a try, go take a look.  You might get inspired to do something you’ve been putting off.  And did I mention they have pie (recipes)? Until next time…stay nerdy my friends.

Copyright 2015 It Came From The Nerd Cave