LEARNED!

* = I found this image looking for Erol Otus stuff today and found it really quiet funny...

You know what time it is…

OLD SCHOOL D&D ART




There is currently a bit of a kerfuffle going on the Interweb(s) regarding both DIY Old School D&D and how some comments made by the people at Frog God Games were interpreted. I’m not a Grognard, I dig on all editions, I just want to play, and so I am without a serious opinion. I do however read a LOT of Old School blogs and am fascinated by the argument. The real part of the argument that intrigues me though is the idea of Old School D&D art being supplanted by ‘Nu” D&D art on retro clone games. I can’t deny that when I see some Willingham & Otus work it makes me giddy, it brings back fond memories of Dieties & Demigods, and entire weekends spent rolling dice. That being said I like Wayne Reynolds a lot, and some of the newer stuff out there is decent in invoking the spirit of the game. On a side note I find it really bizarre that the most venom and vitriol spit in the so-called ‘Edition Wars’ comes from Old School Grognards. I’ve stated it before on someone’s blog in the comments, but let me state it again. Don’t we want to grow the hobby? I for one don’t care what you play as long as you play. Remember that some edition of D&D was someone’s first edition; it was someone’s D&D. So if 4E isn’t your cup of tea, that’s great, but to continually bash it because you’re angry about gawds knows what seems to only fracture a hobby that should be about reaching out and forming communities. And for those ‘Nu’ School players who don’t understand the power, the majesty, and the awe inducing wonder of the Grognard take the time to try it out. There is a reason that the name Dungeons And Dragons has been around this long.

WALKING DEAD!

October 31st on AMC I’ll be glued to the T.V. for 90 minutes of pure bliss. I like Zombie stuff, I am in no way Zombie obsessed, always have. Night Of The Living Dead (Infinite *’s out of 5) is a movie from my youth that so shook me that to this day I find it disturbing, but will set down and watch it gleefully. So when the posse at Hot Comics pushed me to check out Robert Kirkman’s Zombie magnum opus I gave it. Gave in to zombie bliss. Kirkman is and has crafted, next to World War Z, the best end of the world zombie story ever. So when this show was announced I was excited, and yet apprehensive because the comic is unrelentingly bleak, gory, and at times mind-bendingly oppressive regarding the human condition. All that being said it’s also highly entertaining, visually compelling, and written by the pen of genius. With Frank Darabount leading the way for the television adaptation I have faith that this will not lose the edge, the humanity, or the brutality of the source material. I am a Walking Dead fan, and I eagerly await my zombie bliss.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY!

Justy Timbo & Rims introduced me to this back in the Piedmont days on a “Caw Wide”. I really like the ‘southern’ rock vibe wrapped in the metal. Is Albatross their best song? In my opinion no, but it’s a damn fine tune.

THE INTELLIGENCIA!

Jeff Parker is a friggin’ genius. A loosely affiliated group of Marvel’s ‘smartest’ villains is just, well its just genius. I haven’t taken the time to read through the end of the Red Hulk Saga, as it’s going to be hard for me to stomach Jeph Loeb’s work. That being said when you let a writer like Parker just go where his wild imagination takes him this is the genius you get. It’s SO good that I’m thinking of adding aspects of it to the Marvel SAGA campaign. There are so many things percolating in my melon as it pertains to that campaign right now that I can hardly stand it.

F*^$ ME, RAY BRADBURY!

I used the censored version, but I found this little ditty to be pretty damn funny.

How ‘bout some

RANDOM CRAP!

- It’s as if Castle Ravenloft is taunting me as I wait, impatiently, for it to finally be released and arrive on my humble doorstep.
- I’m convinced, for now, that Twilight Of The Idols (***** out of 5) by Slough Feg is just a masterpiece. I don’t even know the words to the songs and yet I can’t keep from tapping my feet or finger to the beat and I can’t help by sing along undecipherable words to just pretend I know. It’s a great album.
- I watched most of the first half of the Packers Vs. Colts game last night and I have to say if the Packers can protect Aaron Rogers and keep him upright I’m not sure many teams can keep them from averaging 30 points a game. He doesn’t have a lot of stars at the skills position, but he has solid pros who are better than average. That and they are DEEP! I really think that their fourth and fifth receiver could easily start on other teams in the league. I’m not sold on their Offensive line as I think putting Clifton and Tauscher out at the tackles, as they are both old and injury prone. In addition Ryan Grant just isn’t explosive enough to do much for me other than the ole’ “3 yards in a cloud of dust” offense. I don’t think that’s the philosophy the Packers want to implement. Don’t get me wrong he isn’t bad, he just isn’t that good either. As for the defense, it’s potentially fantastic, but that Dom Capers 3-4 scheme is easy to spread and exploit if you get blueprint on it. Overall I came away very impressed with the Pack.

And with that I’m off to eat some sesame chicken…

“Silent as we wait for sundown
Laying in the seeds of glory
Softly under water screaming
Waking up my eyes are bleeding

Father haunts me with his warning
Chorus in the fields of morning
Fortress of the dawn in fading
Through the trees I feel him wait for me

Thoughts fly free but my minds not there
In the chorus of another world
The forest of another world
My head is in another world
And slowly it haunts you

The chorus of another world
The forest of another world
My head is in another world
And slowly it takes you away

Time to rise from the dream
As the energy seems to scream all around
Timeless vale shields the ground
But the rise of his coming fire knows no bounds

Can't you feel him rising
Chorus sings so strong
Summoning for baptizing
Spring temples shake the sky and the ground
When the energy that you've found knows no bounds

I was cast from heaven
Rather be free in hell

Rising up from spring temples
Soon I'll rule Earth as well, in your dreams
As the energy seems to scream all around”