#benjamin rosenbaum

[plausible-fabulist]

So... have I mentioned I'm about to release a 450,000-word Jewish historical fantasy interactive fiction game? Here's an interview I did with my publisher, Choice of Games, about it.

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[exponentiate]

Only a few chapters in, but The Unraveling (Benjamin Rosenbaum) is killing me.

“It’s not that I think I’m very [other gender]-like, but I also don’t feel very [gender]-like.” (paraphrased)

I’m. suffering lmao

[snapbookreviews]

Jewish Role Playing Games, Take 2

It's #Hanukkah! Lets look at some Jewish role playing games to play with the family this holiday season, with offerings from @ben_rosenbaum , @wrestlingbubble and @rileyrethal

Hanukkah sameach! In 2020, I made a post about role playing games that can be played with dreidels. It came to mind again this year because it started getting a lot of attention as Hanukkah approached, and I realized that I ought to do a follow up. Since that original post, I completed my conversion to Judaism and have become a lot more well versed in table-top role playing games. Now, there is…

[ailelie]

from "The Ant King: A California Fairy Tale" by Benjamin Rosenbaum

Sheila split open and the air was filled with gumballs. Yellow gumballs. This was awful for Stan, just awful. He had loved Sheila for a long time, fought for her heart, believed in their love until finally she had come around. They were about to kiss for the first time and then this: yellow gumballs.

Stan went to a group to try to accept that Sheila was gone. It was a group for people whose unrequited love had ended in some kind of surrealist moment. There is a group for everything in California.

Read the Rest (for free) Here

[fellamarsh]

#3. The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum

"O person! O child of fate! Have you wondered if This is the World For You? Why not find out?"

In the far distant future, Fift Brulio Iraxis finds zirself caught in the middle of an art piece-turned-revolution, zir teenage struggles suddenly thrust to the forefront of zir rigid society. Torn between zir family's safety and staying true to zir feelings and zirself, whatever choices ze makes will ripple outward and effect zir entire world.

Take Karhide from Left Hand of Darkness, turn it into a circus, and shove it into a kaleidoscope, and you'll be close to the world of The Unraveling. Chock-a-block with new scifi terminology, neopronouns, and rapidly shifting perspectives (most characters have two or more bodies!), it can be a bit hard to wade into, but if you give it a chance it is an incredibly rewarding, deeply heartfelt read.

My Top Five Books of the Year

#5. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

I absolutely adored this book. The visuals, the environment, the dreamy quality to it all... the slow unraveling of the mystery of the House and its inhabitants... the metaphysical themes... Piranesi was haunting and exquisite and I highly recommend it. 

[sinceileftyoublog]

Jake Xerxes Fussell Live Show Review: 10/17, Empty Bottle, Chicago

Jake Xerxes Fussell

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Over the years, Jake Xerxes Fussell's repertoire and sound have expanded, though he's never lost sight of his exploratory ethos. On his self-titled debut and sophomore effort What in the Natural World, he introduced himself as a contemporary troubadour, an interpreter who used original arrangements to surface the universal meaning out of old songs. 2019's Out of Sight was his first record with a full band, 2022's Good and Green Again his first to combine traditional songs with wholly original compositions. In July, Fussell brought it all together on his debut album for Fat Possum, When I'm Called; it's an album featuring a murderer's row of collaborators and songs that Fussell constructed backwards, coming up with melodies and riffs before adapting them to folk songs that fit.

On When I'm Called, legends Fussell knew who may or may not have met each other, like cowboy artist Maestro Gaxiola and painter, musician, and folklorist Art Rosenbaum (a mentor of Fussell's who passed away in 2022), are intimate bedfellows. Fussell lifts from the public domain, Benjamin Britten, and found poetry on a scrap of paper. Returning are close collaborators like James Elkington, in the producer's chair and playing seemingly everything from synth to harmonica, as well as Joan Shelley, singing alongside Fussell's baritone on "Cuckoo!". Uniting with Fussell for the first time are guitar luminary Blake Mills, whose abstract tones nestle between Fussell's acoustic guitar and Elkington's pedal steel on "Going to Georgia", and Hunter Diamond, whose woodwinds pop up just when you need them most, like a consistent smiling face around the neighborhood. In general, on When I'm Called, more than ever, the band gets room to meander, to take in their surroundings.

Fussell & Ben Whiteley

How, then, would Fussell, who usually plays solo, adapt the arrangements not just to a live stage, but for a crowd who has had months to take in the recorded versions? Indeed, Thursday's show at the Empty Bottle featured the youngest crowd I've ever seen at a Fussell headlining show. Some of that, perhaps, had to do with the venue itself and the start time of his set (after 10 P.M.). But something tells me, at this point, people are less inclined to hear beloved old songs and more amped for Fussell specifically, the guitar player who picks bright-eyed on "Jump for Joy", the singer who belts, "Well, wake up woman, take your big leg off of mine," on "Have You Ever Seen Peaches Growing on a Sweet Potato Vine?". (I went to get a beer at the bar as he sang, passing by a crowd member cackling, turning to their friend and declaring, "I love that line!") Well, for one, Fussell didn't play solo this time. He was always accompanied by bassist Ben Whiteley, who plays on When I'm Called. Whiteley's steady plucking eased us into "Michael Was Hearty", and his rhythms buoyed Fussell's chugging guitars on an unexpected, but great cover of Nick Lowe's new wave classic "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass". As we were in Chicago, Elkington, too, joined Fussell on stage for a number of songs, providing contrasting guitar textures on "Cuckoo!" Even The Weather Station's Tamara Lindeman, all the way from Toronto, was in the crowd and came on for backing vocals.

Fussell

It's easy to say that what is usually a lonesome affair turned into a party, given that the number of people on stage at any given moment quadrupled from its usual number. The more I thought about it, though, whether it's four musicians crowding around each other or just Fussell perched on a stool, his shows are always communal. On Thursday, the most affecting and memorable moments of the night were spontaneous. Out of Sight's "Jubliee" started as a singalong and felt like a full-on hymnal towards the end, the crowd repeating, "Swing and turn, Jubilee / Live and learn, Jubilee," like it was a mantra of keeping-on. And then there was "Donkey Riding", a traditional song which does not (yet) have a studio version, inspiring the biggest, and somehow still most polite sing-and-clap-along of the night. The moment the crowd seemed to get a tad too rowdy, we shushed each other so we could hear one last instrumental flourish, one last guitar lick from the artist who continues to give us gifts we didn't even know we already had.

[aaronsrpgs]

A new episode of RTFM! @maxwellander and I continue our quest to find the cure for "D&D Brain." This time, our delicious medicine is Dream Askew/Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum.

[annleckie]

Here to recommend The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum. Like, I think some of y'all would seriously enjoy it.

[spot-the-antisemitism]

Admittedly I (not Jewish myself) was worried this was another case of Wikipedia editors refusing to say that a person is Jewish (instead Wikipedia will either omitting it or say “of Jewish-descent”) with Benjamin Rosenbaum’s wiki page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Rosenbaum

But he’s put under the categories of “Jewish American short story writers” and “Jewish American novelists” and so on. So is this just a case of a writer not getting a fleshed out Wikipedia page? Am I jumping the gun here while trying to be on the look on out for the less blatant antisemitism/Jewish erasure?

On a lighter note, starting to read some of his creative work and I am loving it.

Dear gentile anon,

absolutely not it doesn't even mention him being Jewish anywhere but the "his work is Jewish".

He is "religious" and studied religion but not listed as Jewish or even Jewish origin/heritage. this unacceptable.

the fact that he's listed as Jewish in the index is the one thing these antisemites cannot touch and is therefore a terrible indication of whether erasure is there.

Check the drafts to see if the pre 2023 page mentioned he's Jewish or if the writer never wrote it so in the first place

this omision is important

yours,

Cecil

[choiceofgames]

NEW GAME - The Ghost and the Golem

We are pleased to announce our newest game! "The Ghost and the Golem." On sale until August 15th.

Confront mystic perils and revelations, pogroms, and your own wild heart in this Jewish historical fantasy set in the violent spring of 1881 amid bandits, betrothals, klezmers, and kabbalists! Can you save the shtetl…or do you long to escape it?

https://www.choiceofgames.com/ghost-and-the-golem/

When the czar is blown up by anarchists on a St. Petersburg bridge, the Jews are blamed, and a wave of anti-Semitic riots spread throughout the Russian empire. Though they haven't quite reached your sleepy little market village on the border of Poland and Ukraine, tensions are rising, and otherworldly portents foretell approaching doom. Can you delve into the mystical secrets of the Unseen World, investigate the underlying causes of the brewing pogrom, or make alliances with the local Christian peasants, the Czarist garrison, or the bandits of the wild forest? And let's not forget that Mamma is itching to get you married! Will you embrace the match that she and Gittel the matchmaker have arranged? Or do you have other plans?

In the tradition of the stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer, Sholem Aleichem, I. L. Peretz, and the particularly zany parts of the Talmud (as well as modern authors like Michael Chabon, Naomi Novik, and Helene Wecker), The Ghost and the Golem lets you experience a magical nineteenth-century Jewish Eastern Europe. Surrounded by an often hostile Christendom, by wild forests in which anything might creep, and by the invisible creatures of the Unseen World��angels, demons, ghosts, and spirits—the Jews of the shtetl feud and reconcile, bargain and gossip, celebrate and mourn, and snatch a little joy and love where they can. Life in the shtetl is sweet as raisin pastries and bitter as horseradish: may it be the Divine Will that it endures another season…

"The Ghost and the Golem" is an interactive fantasy novel by Benjamin Rosenbaum, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based—450,000 words and hundreds of choices long, without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

[ladytabletop]

Game Roundup 2023: Part 4 (The Final Part)

Okay, this final post is going to be (unfortunately) mostly just a list of things I've read because it turns out I've read A LOT this year! First, let's highlight a few things.

FIST: Ultra Edition by CLAYMORE

This game is mechanically tight. Play all your action team/spec ops/military sim without too much sim fantasies! It's already spawned a ton of additional content and hacks!

Slugblaster by Mikey Hamm

Teens! Dimensional skateboarding! Goopy creatures! What DOESN'T this game have? It's Forged in the Dark but honestly it iterates on that system in a way that is perfect to me. Really slims things down AND makes downtime better with built-in character arcs to pursue. Plus a thriving fan community that's made a lot of cool content (yours truly included).

Voidheart Symphony by Minerva McJanda

This was pitched to me as Persona the TTRPG. (I have not played Persona). The thing I find fascinating about it is that you're using different rules depending on whether you're in The Kingdom or The City. It's gorgeously laid out, and I'm excited to run it!

Dream Askew/Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum

I had to pick up the OG Belonging Outside Belonging game(s) at GenCon and I waasn't disappointed. One game has you playing a bunch of queer post-apocalyptic survivors. The other has you playing an alternate history of a Jewish settlement.

CBR+PNK by Emanoel Melo

Another one I picked up from GenCon! The design on this one is TIGHT. if you have the chance to get a physical copy, do it! The presentation is unrivaled. This is cyberpunk FitD.

Other games I've read (and I'm sure many many many are missing!)

Inevitable

Running Together, Leagues Apart

Spellchitects!

Badger + Coyote Duet RPG

Three Kobolds in a Trenchcoat

Unreality/Strictness -- The Single-Page Version

Totally Real Human Adults

The Dark Below

Memories by Moonlight

Wild Duelist

Hack the Planet!

Have You Heard About the Beast?

Wizardry and Bureaucracy

Spire

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Here's to more reading next year!

[snapbookreviews]

Spring 2023 Behind the Scenes

This spring I read a wide range of genres, such as xianxia and Western fantasy, classic and classic-feeling literature, post-apocalyptic ttrpgs and more.

Soooo…… I have some big, exciting stuff coming up in the next few months. Patrons are aware, but it’s going to be impacting my reading habits pretty significantly, likely starting with the Summer 2023 quarterly reading post, which will cover June-August. I should also be able to announce it by then! In more relevant notes, I’m thinking I’m going to start having the substacks take a back seat, I…

[plotbunnygames]

I thought I'd post a reminder of all the games you can get through us!

Viva la QueerBar is a story game about a queer bar and the team who runs it. GM-less one-shot for 2-6 players, Descended from the Queen mechanics. Written by Sandra Dahlhoff and Andrea Rick, cover art by Hannah van den Höövel.

Miss Bernburg's Finishing School for Young Ladies is a story game about the interpersonal drama at a boarding school for upper-class young women in the 1950s. GM-less one-shot or few-shot for 3-6 players, Firebrands mechanics. Written by Andrea Rick, cover art by Christiane Ebrecht.

Bunny, We Bought a Dungeon is an OSR map-drawing story game about anthropomorphic bunnies who bought a dungeon to move in there together. GM-less one-shot for 2-6 players, D6 dice pool mechanic. Written by Jasmin Neitzel and Andrea Rick, cover art from the Public Domain.

Dolly, We Bought a Dream House is a dream-house-drawing story game about Dollys in a pinktastic world who explore and furnish a Dream House together. GM-less one-shot for 2-6 players, D6 dice pool mechanic. Written by Jasmin Neitzel and Andrea Rick, cover art by Andrea Rick.

Magical Pets is a narrative TTRPG about pets at a magic school. One-shot or mini campaign for 2-6 players and 1 GM, Lasers & Feelings hack. Writing and art by Andrea Rick.

Rodents With Guitars is a narrative TTRPG about a group of rodents who want to win a guitar band contest. One-shot or mini campaign for 2-6 players and 1 GM, Honey Heist hack. Writing and art by Andrea Rick.

ImproVeto is a story game to practice collaborative storytelling (usually fun and absurd ones) and using the X-card. Warm-up or one-shot of 10-90 minutes, minimal mechanics. Writing and art by Andrea Rick.

---

We've also published the official German translation of Follow by Ben Robbins and are currently working on further translations into German (including Dream Askew/Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum).

We'll be crowdfunding our next bilingual game Against the Monster/Gegen das Monster in February 2024 (separate post to come!).

You can buy all the games shown in this post through our website (most of them are available in print and PDF). Digital versions (all screenreader-ready with image descriptions, PDF tags, etc.) and more detailed descriptions in English are also available on Itch.io.

[profiterole-reads]

Power to Yield and Other Stories by Bogi Takács

Power to Yield and Other Stories by Bogi Takács was absolutely brilliant! It's a collection of speculative short stories, sometimes interconnected, taking place on Earth, where aliens try to communicate with us through telepathy, on Eren, where people can get magically turned into plants (temporarily), and more...

This is next-level SF/F, I think one of the only books I've read that has come close to this was The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum. These stories explore gender identity, neurodivergence, religion, immigration and the human condition in general (as in what makes us human).

There are many non-binary characters. There are also a couple of intersex characters, and the author emself is intersex, but this book is more intersex in its themes than in its representation. Thanks for the rec to @intersexbookclub!

[dustedmagazine]

Jake Xerxes Fussell—When I’m Called (Fat Possum)

Folk musician and curator Jake Xerxes Fussell was initially known for recordings with a front porch vibe. On his latest, When I’m Called, some performances hew to traditional lines. The album’s opener, “Andy,” is a story about Andy Warhol by Maestro Gaxiola, depicting a pseudo-rivalry between the artists. Fussell plays it simply, just acoustic guitar and voice, giving the song a rustic rework.

Elsewhere, new and past collaborators perform with Fussell. Like his 2022 release, Good and Green Again, James Elkington produces, creating elaborate arrangements and contributing instruments to several of the songs. Other frequent collaborators join them, including horn-player Anna Jacobsen, guitarist Blake Mills, bassist Ben Whitely, who plays both electric and upright bass and drummer Joe Westerlund. Musicians new to Fussell’s orbit include string player Jane Cook and woodwind performer Hunter Diamond. Throughout, Fussell’s understated baritone allows the words practically to speak for themselves.

Fussell culls another selection from a different source than usual. Composer Benjamin Britten collected many folk songs, arranging them for classical and scholastic musicians. Britten’s collaboration with Jane Taylor, “Cuckoo,” is given the Fussell/Elkington treatment, obscuring its rather formal source. Joan Shelley provides backing vocals on the chorus.

One of Fussell’s mentor figures, the poly artist and folklorist Art Rosenbaum, passed away in 2022. Several songs from Rosenbaum’s collection are featured on When I’m Called: “Leaving Here, Don’t Know Where I’m Going” the Scottish ballad “Feeing Day,” “Gone to Hilo,” “Who Killed Poor Robin”, and the album closer “Going to Georgia.” Each is treated a each bit differently: “Leaving Here…” has a pastoral vibe that includes winds, harmonica, and piano, “Feeing Day” has sustained horn chords in the background, “Who Killed Poor Robin” incorporates an inexorable character in the rhythm section and Elkington playing tangy organ chords and autoharp, “Gone to Hilo” has guitar soloing from Fussell and Elkington on pedal steel and organ, and “Going to Georgia” has Mills providing an extra guitar, Cook strings, Elkington organ and feedback, and Whitely and Westerlund grounding the whole in an Appalachian mid-tempo pattern. While many of the songs are given relatively brief renditions, “Going to Georgia” allows the musicians a chance to stretch out a bit.

Fussell is still a captivating figure singing by himself with a guitar; I wouldn’t want to see his front porch abandoned. However, this album's changes in approach and material invariably work. These and the talents of his collaborators help When I’m Called to be one of Fussell’s strongest recordings to date.

Christian Carey