Twenty questions and answers...

After two really quite weeks it might be a good start follow a nice idea some fellow bloggers had: Ray ("Don't throw a 1"-Blog) and Fran ("Angry Lurker") started a "Twenty questions and answers"-campaingn which Christopher ("Bunker Hill") entered yesterday.

Nice idea and I enjoy to participate. Here we go:

1. Favourite Wargaming period and why?

Currently definitely the Napoleonic Era. For the beginning I started with the Battle of Waterloo as narrow event to get a start, but I'm planing to broaden my horizon towards Peninsular Campaign and the struggles at the Eastern Front against Austria and Prussia.

2. Next period, money no object?

Well... There are there are so many interesting periods but not enough time to cover them all. But next in the line could be either something late medieval, the FIW or SYW or maybe WW I. Within each of those periods there are armies which I would like to research, paint and play...



3. Favourite 5 films?

Very difficult because there are so many good films and I might just forget some... But those five are without any doubt some of my favourites.
- Henry V. (1989)
- Waterloo
- A bridge too far
- The last of the Mohicans
- Batman Triology (2005 - 2012) (especially "The Dark Knight")

4. Favourite 5 TV series?

A bit easier as question 3 since there's a lot of rubbish on TV but nevertheless each season has it's highlights. But my all-time favourites are those:
- Navy CIS
- Agatha Christie's Poirot
- Sherlock Holmes (with Jeremy Brett)
- Game of Thrones
- The Simpsons

5. Favourite book and author?

- "Die Elfen" by Bernhard Hennen (just reading, unfortunately no English edition yet)
- "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
- "The Lord of the Rings" by J. R. R. Tolkien

6. Greatest General? Can’t count yourself!!

Well... Currently I tend to the Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. But it's a real neck-and-neck race with Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Horrocks.

7. Favourite Wargames rules?

Black Powder and a ruleset for WW II which some fellows and me have been developping for the last fifteen years.

8. Favourite Sport and team?

I'm a huge (ice) hockey fan and support the Düsseldorfer EG (Düsseldorfer Ice Skating Community) from the bottom of my heart.

9.  If you had a only use once time machine, when and where would you go?

Maybe I would go back to 1918 and try to tell those Austrian and German leaders (monarchs and politians alike) which annihilating outcome their way to war will have.
Or I'd travel to Munich in 1923 to tell the police to aim at the bastard with the ridiculous mustache.

But to be honest there's a long list of historical events I would like to visit or maybe to change...

10. Last meal on Death Row?

As starter a mix of Spanish tappas, then Beef Wellington and as dessert Crème brûlée. Of course accompaned by a selection of excellent wines and some port for dessert. Afterwards a Monte Christo cigar and some characterful single malt Scoth Whisky.

11. Fantasy relationship and why?
All my fantasies are fulfilled by my loving wife and our lovely daughter.
(You follow my blog every now and then, Honey, don't you?) 

12.   If your life were a movie, who would play you?

Fortunately the time I had to recommend Oliver Hardy are over. Maybe a slighty younger but slightly better figured version of Jon Cryer with glasses would do. 

13.   Favourite Comic  Superhero?

That has always been Batman.

14.   Favourite Military quote?

"Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won." by Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington 

15.   Historical destination to visit?

The battlefield of Waterloo, the beaches of Normandy and the the Joe Louis Arena.

16.   Biggest Wargaming regret?

Having missed to seak contact to the wargaming group I've been playing with for the last months much earlier.

17.   Favourite Fantasy job?

Ice Hockey commentator, reporter or official. 

18.   Favourite Song, Top 5?

That's difficult. Most of the modern stuff is easy listening and quickly forgotten to my. I like to hear some songs from the Beatles or from Genesis from time to time. While painting I like to hear Loreena McKennitt, Blackmore's Night or the Soundtracks like "The last of the Mohicans" or "The Lord of the Rings".
But there are some compositions I'll never get fed up of. When I hear them I start to mumble the lyrics or hum the music:
- "Wellington's Victory" by Ludwig van Beethoven
- "Zadok, the priest" by G. F. Händel
- "I vow to thee, My Country" by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, music by Gustav Holst
- "Highwayman" by the Highwaymen
- "Lady of Shalott" by Loreena McKennitt
- "Auf Ansbach Dragoner!" (Hohenfriedberger Marsch) by

19.   Favourite Wargaming Moment?

Difficult to tell since I've been playing wargames for the last fifteen or twenty years and a lot of silly, funny or great moments occured. But what pushes itself in front of my mind is a situation when one of my fellow gamers had to throw four or five saves when we played Black Powder. He needed a 6 with each of the dice and told us the result would depend on attitude and belief rather than luck. So he threw the dice and scored only sixes. We all were puzzeled but his unit survived against all odds...

20.   The miserable Git question, what upsets you?

Usually I'm a calm fellow. But some things upset me:
- useless waste of time
- erratic procedure without any planning
- political talk which disturbs wargaming or RPG sessions
- smart-arses
- stupid sport commentators who follow the game worse than TV audiance
 

Well... These were 20 questions from Fran and Ray and 20 answers from me, Stefan aka. Monty. I hope you enjoyed this upbeat after the summer break. For the next weeks I've got enough topics for some posts and I hope to get the time to write them: Two game reports are in queue as well as some progress with the Black Watch Highlanders, some Hussars and my new gaming board. Additionally the 10.000 hits goal seems to be in reach...

Stay tuned!