Drive Vs. The Rookie

* = I sometimes feel this way...










You know you can dance if you want to, you can leave your friends behind, but if your friends don’t dance, and well if they don’t dance then…THEY ARE NO FRIENDS OF MINE! Now that we have that out of the way, we are on the precipice of the Christmas, and no Krampus in site. Tonight the lovely wife and I exchange gifts. My excitement is palpable. The best part about it is a three-day escape from the black hole that is the place that signs my check. I need a break from the work, the people, and the physical structure; it’s literally sapping my will to live.

Speaking of wills to live HOLY CRAP did the Geek Cinema Santa come early this year! With The Hobbit, The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus, & Wrath Of The Titans all having trailers released this week, it was like ‘Nerdvana’. I actually dug all of them including Wrath Of The Titans, which got my attention despite Sam Worthington being the worst actor in the history of mankind. In the past I might have put all the trailers here on the blog, but what can I say, I’m lazy. You should however seek them out; for the most part I dare say you will not be disappointed.

The mail was good to me as well earlier in the week as my physical copy of Guilded Age Volume 1 (Infinte *’s out of 5) arrived. I devoured it this week, and I have to say I really enjoyed the bonus new story about Byron and his exploits prior to meeting the rest of the group. The art is SO vibrant and fun, but at the same time can be utterly moody. I actually found myself sort of sad when I finished reading it, not because I have to wait for more, because I don’t it’s a web comic and I read it every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday just like YOU SHOULD, but because I know where it’s headed. I know what’s going to happen to some of these characters and it isn’t pleasant. It’s so strange to read something you love and are invested in from the beginning again and have that sad feeling of looking at the characters and feeling bad for their future. So very strange.

In addition I watched my bright and shiny copy of The Whisperer In Darkness (***** out of 5).
This is the H.P.L.H.S.’s second movie, the first being the silent, black & white version of Call Of Cthulhu (**** ½ out of 5) that came out like five years ago. While ‘Whisperer’ is still in black & white, it is a ‘talkie’. Understand these guys make these movies because they LOVE Lovecraft, these are works of art NOT big budget schlock. I love the fact that they make the movies as if they were done in the year the stories were written. I dig the fact that they stretch their non-existent budgets to the max, and it’s awe-inspiring to see what they can do with so little. That being said if you see these two flicks don’t go in expecting a ‘Hollywood’ film because you’ll be disappointed. In addition in this particular case they were dealing with a story that really didn’t have a movie friendly style. Really it’s just two dudes in a dark room talking. Don’t get me wrong it’s one of my favorite Lovecraft tales because of what it eludes to not what it shows. So the writers had to really do a lot of work to turn it into a workable movie and still be true to the material. I think they hit it out of the park. Even the added character who I was skeptical about works PERFECTLY in the end. The vibe is old school RKO or Universal films with the material being tried and true Lovecraft. In a word it’s a joy to behold.

I was daydreaming on the drive in today, which I am wont to do, while listening to some Clutch and had the idea for a D&D short campaign. It would basically be a riff on the Greek Hero cycles. The PC’s would all be the off spring of the Gods, so they would be Epic Heroes in the molds of Bellaphron, Hercules, Jason, etc. Meaning that each PC would have an ‘epic destiny’ at birth. We’d play an adventure for 1st & 2nd level, for 10th & 11th level, 17th level, and then 25th up. The players would tell me the tales of what happened in between. The idea would be for them to be building to something truly HUGE in scope like the Dawn War. Hell it might be neat to have it take place BEFORE the Dawn War. It would be interesting to have a Goddess like Lolth not be what players are used to. It’s something to contemplate any way.

I’d also like to start maybe a monthly D&D Adventure System Group in the D&D West March Campaign Style;
http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/78/grand-experiments-west-marches/
The idea would be that the Players, myself included, choose or make a charcter(s) we then meet once a week and play a ‘module’, pre-existing adventure, or just do a random dungeon crawl. We could randomize it pretty easily; I’m already sort of toying with it. With the Adventure System you can get a lot of fun out of very little time. I can hammer out ‘modules’ once I figure out a format. Hell, I’m already hammering out Monsters and Villains. There would be no Role Playing, I could actually PLAY, and it would be about just enjoying the experience. With the Board Game Geek collaborators constantly creating new and innovative materials the game continues to evolve into something fantastic, why not enjoy it? The thing is, if I have a time when no one shows, I can play the game by myself. Hmmm, it’s something to think about.

Nothing like finishing the week on a high note, like perhaps some…

RANDOM CRAP!

- I am sorely disappointed that I will not be able to watch Lucas open up ALL the LEGO goodness we got for him this year. I know going to Kansas for a Holiday just isn’t really realistic, but knowing that my brother’s son is growing up and I don’t really know him it’s sad. That and LEGO’s kick ASS!
- Could the Chiefs actually sneak into the Playoffs? If they did I would get me a Romeo shirt and wear it with pride!
- Speaking of strange football, can someone explain to me why Charlie Weis took the KU job? They are traditionally an awful Football school and Weis had good gig at the University of Florida that he left an even better gig with the Chiefs for. Now I see that quarterbacks from not one, but TWO other schools are jumping ship to go play for Weis. It’s just strange. Weis was a disaster at Notre Dame, and his tenure at Florida was just all right. I know his time in New England with the Patriots and even two years ago with the Chiefs buys the guy a lot of coaching equity, but I’m just really not sure he’s right for College Football. I guess one can hope, I’m just not ready to chug the Kool-Aide just yet.
- A little over 4 hours to go and I’m countin’ the minutes.
- Currently I’m hammering through a coffee table book on Jack ‘The King’ Kirby. Not only was the man a creative juggernaut from everything that people interviewed in the book state he was an amazing human being. Oh and the art in the book is amazing.
- Wanna wrestle?
- I thought about writing about the insanity that is the current political environment, however I decided to save myself and anyone crazy enough to read this the frustration.

If I don’t talk to you before Sunday have a Merry Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Festivus, Holiday, whatever the hell it is you celebrate. I just hope it’s good.

"What's the matter brother, does the drought got you down?
(Open up the bomb shelter, sweep it on out)
Sing to the ocean in the afternoon haze,
Up the iron pillars, rise in the waves.
Andromeda is weeping. Inside one teardrop swims
Brave Useless in training less a millimeter thin.

RELEASE THE KRAKEN!
GET THE SACRIFICE ON!
RELEASE THE KRAKEN!
GOOD GD Y'ALL!

Useless the Younger we pray for you.
You know we got your back in whatever you do.
Bathysphere bobbing in Eyeball Bay,
Black lash crashes, forty foot waves.
Cepheus is holding Cassiopeia's free hand
As the Kraken breaks the surface making bee-line to the land.

In Greek legend the son of Zeus and Danae
He and his mother was set adrift in a chest, but rescued by the intervention of Zeus.
He was brought up by KING POLYDECTES,
Who, wishing to secure Danae, got rid of him by encouraging him
In the almost hopeless task of obtaining the head OF THE MEDUSA!
With the help of the gods he was successful, and with the head,
Which turned all that looked on it into stone, he rescued Andromeda
And later metamorphosed Polydectes and his guests to stone."


* = Next year this should be our tree...