20 Questions

 OK, I'll bite...

I just saw Ray and Fran answering 20 questions on their respective blogs The Angry Lurker and Don't throw a 1.  Seems harmless enough so here goes:

1. Favourite Wargaming period and why?
   Used to be biblical, in 15mm.  I have an army for the Assyrian king Sennacherib (700BCE) and planned to collect armies for all his enemies.  I have the Kushite Egyptians, Hebrews and Midianites, but never got as far as the Elamites and Babylonians.
   
   Now I'd be hard pressed to name a single period.  I dabble in so many different things and enjoy them all.


2. Next period, money no object?
   
   Probably pulp or spy-fi.  I really like some of the stuff that Crooked Dice are putting out.
   
3. Favourite 5 films?
   Tricky. There are so many, but let's go for:
   1. Something from Pixar.  Probably The Incredibles.
   2. Something with Bogart in it.  But which: The African Queen or Casablanca?
   3. A war film.  Zulu, perhaps?
   4. An adventure story.  Raiders of the Lost Ark has to be it.
   5. Something funny.  Possibly Life of Brian, though almost any of the Charlie Chaplain feature films are contenders as well.
      
4. Favourite 5 TV series?
   Um, I don't think that's possible.  I might get as far as 2 or 3, but 5 TV shows to which I really look forward.  Hmm.
   1. The Walking Dead
   2. Doctor Who
   3. ...
      
5. Favourite book and author?
   What, just one?  That's not possible; I have thousands of books.  I can't pick only one!
   
   
6. Greatest General? Can’t count yourself!
   
   Napoleon, hands down.  He not only won some incredible battles, he also set up legal and other institutions that still exist today.  Eat your heart out, Alexander the Great!
   
7. Favourite Wargames rules?Hordes of the Things.  No, All Things Zombie.  No, wait: Full Thrust.  Argh, I don't know!
   
   
8. Favourite Sport and team?
   Nope, not interested in team sport.
   
9. If you had a only use once time machine, when and where would you go?
   Probably back to the 1970s to see my adolescent self and try to convince him not to be so painfully shy!
   
   
10. Last meal on Death Row?
    How on earth would I end up on death row?!  Ah, OK - something Italian, decent pasta, white wine, salad.  Then sticky toffee pudding and ice cream for dessert.
    
    
11. Fantasy relationship and why?
    Holly Hunter's really cute.
    
12. If your life were a movie, who would play you?
    
    Got to be George Clooney.  After all, he's almost as good looking as me!
    
    
13. Favourite Comic  Superhero?
    Um, I've not got much to draw on here.  Does Judge Dredd count?
    
    
14. Favourite Military quote?
    "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".  Attributed to Rear Admiral Farragut, battle of Mobile Bay, 1864, but almost certainly paraphrased.
    
    
15. Historical destination to visit?
    Petra or Machu Picchu
    
    
16. Biggest Wargaming regret?Spending my younger adulthood playing computer games instead of finding fellow miniatures players.
    
    
17. Favourite Fantasy job?
    
    Isambard Kingdom Brunel, hero engineer.
    
18. Favourite Song, Top 5?
    
    1. "Hey Jude", Beatles
    2. 5th Symphony, Shostakovitch
    3. Mozart Requiem
    4. "When the Wind Blows", Eric Bogle
    5. "Summer Nights", John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
       
19. Favourite Wargaming Moment?
    A long, long time ago we used to play a lot of WRG 6th edition Ancients rules.  I never did very well, but one day I sent all my Assyrian mounted troops on a single flank march.  They arrived perfectly on time just behind Robert's Saxons (yeah, I know!) and rolled his army up like dominoes with barely a scratch.  It helped that his Huscarls rolled a treble-1 for morale when they saw the threat from the flank!
    
20. The miserable Git question, what upsets you?
    I get so fed up with junk mail and junk phone calls.  Not so much with the people who make such calls or send such mail; I understand that theirs is a simple commercial proposition, even if I don't approve of it.  But I just don't understand why anyone ever responds to them.  After all, if we all just ignored such approaches then the hucksters wouldn't bother; there would be nothing in it for them!